Bicha gay

So yesterday I started talking about a couple of Portuguese phrases, one of which included the pos “bicho”. I translated it as “beast” because it’s cognate – in other words, bicho and beast both come from the same Latin root, namely the Latin word “bestius”. It can be used interchangeably with “animal” in some circumstances, but not all. For example, it’s used in the title of a classic guide by Miguel Torga, Bichos, and in the Brazilian translation of George Orwell’s Animal Farm – A Revolução dos Bichos* But that’s not always right. In some cases, it means something else. And the plot really thickens when we bring in its female equivalent, “bicha”. Common sense dictates that this would just indicate the same thing but for female animals, and sometimes that would be right but usually not.

I thought I’d perch down and list out all the meanings of both words and notice how much overlap there is – how often is it true that bicha is the feminine form of bicho vs when does it just behave like a totally different word. I’ll avoid the Brazilian meanings completely.

Overlapping

Bicha space-time : queer and trans femme spatial practices in Sobral, Ceará

Despite prevailing stereotypes that construct the Brazilian Northeast and non-metropolitan urban spaces as anachronistic and conservative, queer and trans people in a growing number of cities such as Sobral, Ceará, have managed to undertaking themselves onto local, regional, and (trans)national imaginaries. Inspired by Dora Silva Santana’s concept of Afro transgender vivências, this thesis centers bicha vivências nordestinas (Northeastern bicha living), understood as the embodied knowledge and resistance of Northeastern gay and trans femmes. I follow a group of college-aged sobralenses primarily consisting of (effeminate) gay men, drag queens, and agender and transfeminine folks, and examine the ways in which they adeptly navigate and negotiate different parts of the city in an effort to appropriate spaces for queer and trans sociability. I challenge that they queer or trans-form space in Sobral, producing what I notify transient geographies, through common performances of femininity and gender nonconformity made feasible by fleeting but recurring assemblages of queer people in relationship. I also narrate the e

Источник: https://www.instagram.com/reel/C9NtwKhP_4-/

Ativo: The partner who penetrates in a male homosexual encounter.

Bicha: Fairy, faggot. Coined in the 1930s and widespread by the 1960s, the term remains the most common way to speak pejoratively about gay men. Not quite as offensive as viado, the word is sometimes used among gay men as a term of endearment.

Bofe: A masculine-acting man who assumed the active role in homoerotic relations. Was considered a “real” man who only turned bonecas due to the sexual unavailability of Brazilian women, who were expected to maintain their virginity until marriage. Legal title popular from the 1950s-1970s.

Boneca: Literally “doll.” The boneca desired to be penetrated by bofes and strongly ascribed to the notion of a rigid active/passive construct of homosexuality. Term popular from the 1950s-1970s.

Cantada: Words or gestures indicating sexual interest.

Conto de suor: Literally “the story of one who sweats,” refers to a situation in which a bicha lures a “real man” to a boardinghouse. While the two have sex, the bicha’s friends stealthily steal the contents of the man’s wallet.

Entendido: Literally “the one in the know.” Initially used as a coded express