Laclau, sexualities and bodies: Analysis of bear subjectifications

Abstract

This article brings forward the debate on bodies to analyze processes of subjectification of gay men called bears. Initially, we outlined a brief conceptual review of analyses around power that contribute to the studies on embodiments, especially by Laclau and Mouffe (1987), Judith Butler (2010) and Michel Foucault (1996). The article is based on a qualitative research and data were collected through semi-structured individual interviews with 19 participants. Data were analyzed considering the laclaudian and foucauldian perspectives of poststructuralist discourse. The research concludes that the ursine discourse reinforces dispersed practices in the affectivity field by constructing a masculine body scheme. This scheme is a nodal point and therefore is the first to be enabled on subjectification processes. However, these processes are not fully realized neither eliminates particularities that often parodize behavioral demands.