Lesbianidades e violências: uma análise de decisões do Superior Tribunal de Justiça

Abstract

The aim of this research was to analyze how lesbians and/or lesbian identities appear in decisions of the Superior Court of Justice (STJ), in order to understand how these identities are juridically (re)produced. To this end, the specific objectives included a discussion on cisheteronormativity in the legal system, with an emphasis on lesbofeminist critique. Subsequently, monocratic decisions and judgments from the STJ related to legal cases involving lesbians or lesbian identities in contexts of violence were selected to analyze the jurisprudence on the topic. Finally, through a categorization process, the research identified how lesbians and lesbian identities are portrayed in the selected jurisprudence. The research addressed the question: how do lesbians or lesbian identities appear in judicial decisions of the STJ that involve lesbians as plaintiffs and/or victims or in contexts of violence? The study adopted the content analysis method, applied to 40 summaries of judgments and judicial decisions issued by the STJ between 2013 and 2023. As a result, eight categories were identified: a) naturalization of familial lesbophobia, b) phallocentrism, c) heterosexuality as a benchmark, d) lesbian identity erasure, e) lesbian identity as an insult, f) lesbians as a minoritized group, g) criminalizing adjectives, and h) "sapatão" as a cognomen in drug trafficking. The results reveal an understanding of Brazilian lesbianities in contexts of violence, emphasizing the diverse meanings attributed to lesbianities in situations involving family relationships, generational dynamics, and criminality.