'Homoaffective' marriage and sexual politics: Implications of the use of affection as justification for same-sex unions

Abstract

In Brazil, the justifications for the realization of these rights are seated in the affective aspect of the relationships between people of the same sex with the use of the term "homoaffection". The aim of this study is to critically examine this justification, pointing to its political and subjective repercussions. Foucauldian discourse analysis was used and the arguments were confronted to the debate on democratic right of sexuality in contemporary Brazilian political, and social context. The analysis indicates that the State is legislating recommending models of affection instead of guaranteeing a democratic right of sexuality, namely using romantic love discourse, even if implicitly, to produce a regulatory framework for subjectivities, based on private demands. We conclude to the need of a justification based on more fundamental rights (freedom, equality, non-discrimination) that, once secured, can ensure, a secular, formal, universal and abstract public sphere that meets the interests of individuals, including those based on romantic love, without being reduced to it.