Bailão: Trajectories, sociability and generation among men with homosexual conducts in São Paulo

Abstract

This article discusses male homosexuality and generation based on a critical review of Bailão, a short documentary released in 2009, through an analysis of its interviews. The trajectories narrated by the interviewees and its visibility regimes are explored as representatives of a generation that underwent profound changes regarding male homosexuality in Brazil and, most especially, in the city of São Paulo. We take an in-depth look at events that marked the beginning of a positive visibility for homosexual men starting in the 1970s, as well as the AIDS epidemic in the following decade are. We conclude with the perception that Bailão is not merely a movie about the nightclub for which it is named but, above all, about a wide range of subjectivities and events not to be underestimated in its importance for
the population analyzed.