"Armários de vidro" e "corpos-sem-cabeça" na biossociabilidade gay online

Abstract

This paper comprises a theoretical analysis that links the concepts of body, sexuality and closet to reflect on gay biosociability on the internet. Based on data produced through participant observation on two Brazilian cruising websites focusing on gay men on the Internet, a conceptual approach that proposes to characterize online sociability as biosociability is constructed, in which the body is the central character. In this biosociability, in which there is a demand for intense visibility, the metaphor of the closet gains new outlines: situations of intense visibility and body exposure, and at the same time, insidious surveillance regarding the discreetness of gay sexuality, are created in this context. The importance of marking and showing the body's sex ("male") and gender ("masculinity") is discussed and correlated with coming out of the closet or remaining closeted, and with the ways of online body exposure.