Beneath the Equator: Cultures of Desire, Male Homosexuality, and Emerging Gay Communities in Brazil [Paperback]

Richard Parker (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0415916208 | ISBN-13: 978-0415916202 | Publication Date: November 6, 1998 | Edition: 1

Based on long-term field research carried out over more than 15 years, Beneath the Equator examines the changing shape of male homosexuality and the emergence of diverse and vibrant gay communities in urban Brazil. Drawing on detailed ethnographic description of multiple sexual worlds organized around street cruising and impersonal sex, male prostitution, transgender performances, gay commercial markets and establishments, gay rights activism and AIDS service provision, Richard Parker examines the changing sexual identities, cultures and communities that have taken shape in Brazil in recent years.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Richard Parker's Beneath the Equator is a groundbreaking anthropological study of male-male relationships in Brazil and the ensuing emergence of distinct gay communities in that country. Parker raises important questions that challenge Western ideas about same-gender desire and sexuality. In the first chapters of the book--using his own research as well as a wealth of other materials--Parker elucidates how gender, race, the history of colonialism, and the views of Western countries have all contributed to constructing specific Brazilian homosexualities. In subsequent chapters, he charts how these manifestations of same-sex desire form the basis for a series of distinct communities. Parker also discusses in depth the effect of the AIDS epidemic on Brazilian gay life and how different, culturally specific AIDS prevention strategies have been formulated and employed to deal with the disease. Written in clear and accessible language, Beneath the Equator brings together a huge amount of research and thought and presents the reader not only with a new, complex portrait of gay life in Brazil but new ways of conceptualizing sexuality and culture worldwide. --Michael Bronski

From Library Journal

Brazil has only infrequently recognized gay life. Cultural anthropologist Parker's landmark study unveils how the Brazilian gay community has materialized in the last 15 years. Using his earlier work, Bodies, Pleasures, and Passions: Sexual Culture in Contemporary Brazil (Beacon, 1991. o.p.), as a springboard, Parker delves into the evolving role of gay men and the lush gay fabric of metropolitan Brazil. Relying on over 200 interviews and surveys, Parker analyzes two distinct issues: the evolving framework of homosexual desire and practices, and the foreign influence on the social, economic, and demographic factors of gay life. Parker connects these developments to the wider processes of urbanization, industrialization, and globalization. This excellent overview is designed as the first in a series of monographs examining Brazilian homosexuality. Appropriate for larger public and academic libraries.?Michael A. Lutes, Univ. of Notre Dame Lib., IN
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Routledge; 1 edition (November 6, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0415916208
• ISBN-13: 978-0415916202
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #746,371 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Lotsa information, detached from P's economistic explanation, February 11, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Beneath the Equator: Cultures of Desire, Male Homosexuality, and Emerging Gay Communities in Brazil (Paperback)

What's best about this book are the data, especially lengthy quotations from gay Brazilian men. (Most seem to be from Jorge and Lino, although he claims to be drawing on 2000 interviews.) There's also unintegrated information about economics (neoliberal development) and "globalisation" that Parker supposes explains changes going on in how Brazilian gay men relate to and regard each other. There are also photos, maps, tables. Readers unfamiliar with the topic should begin with James N. Green's book _Beyond Carnival_ which provides the background to the AIDS era that Parker writes about.

"Brazil" is Rio de Janeiro and the northern port city of Fortaleza. Migration to regional centers and from regional centers to Rio (and on to Rome, Paris, and Lisbon) is sensibly discussed. There's nothing about indigenous peoples, or nonurban gay life. And nothing on lesbians.

This is the only book I've ever seen that has a list of maps, tables, and illustrations that does not indicate what page these are on. Obviously, this is the fault of the publisher rather than the author, gratuitiously making it harder to compare maps.(Parker doesn't do anything with the maps: there is no spatial/geographical analysis, just points of reference on maps.)

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Being a Brazilian myself the book revealed Brazil to me., March 17, 1999

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[e-mail] (San Francisco de Assisi,CA,USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Beneath the Equator: Cultures of Desire, Male Homosexuality, and Emerging Gay Communities in Brazil (Paperback)

Being a Brazilian myself I was very well and deeply impressed with Richard Parker's book.The accuracy,the revealing clarity Mr.Parker uses to describe the homosexual culture in Brazil is going to make this book a classic. More important, besides the impressive scientific accuracy, I felt a text written with love and compassion. Probably that is why my heart was impregnated with kindness and compassion towards my Brazilian gay friends;the ones still living and the ones in Paradise. I am sure God is blessing all of them. Joaquim San Francisco, Wednesday,03/17/99