Desnudando as carnes: representações dos corpos e das masculinidades nas páginas d’ O Rio Nu (1898-1916)

Abstract

The present thesis examines representations conveyed by the illustrated humoristic periodical O Rio Nu. In light of this artifact—both mischievous and modern— the main objective of this thesis is to understand the ways in which different masculinities were constructed in the pages of O Rio Nu, as well as how these representations were articulated with the complex social reality of early 20th-century Rio de Janeiro. Circulating for nearly two decades, from 1898 to 1916, this humor magazine— which, for most of its trajectory, was a biweekly publication— established itself as the longest-running and most successful exponent of the so-called "Cheerful or Free Press" in Rio de Janeiro. This periodical niche was characterized by a central focus on sexual themes and coverage of the so-called "cheerful amusements" (certain theater plays, banned books, brothels, cabarets, etc.). Although it did not resort to explicit descriptions of genitalia, through its sexual humor and language filled with double meanings, the periodical depicted the bodies of Rio’s inhabitants, their sensations, and pleasures, aiming not only to entertain and amuse but also to provoke sexual appeal in the "flesh" of its readers. Among the cultural historians who have incorporated the concept of representation, we take the work of Roger Chartier as a foundational reference. Representation is understood here as a creative act that establishes classifications, divisions, and boundaries through which the social world is apprehended—while also shaping and constituting that very world (Chartier, 1990). In relation to masculinities, this study draws on the scholarship of sociologist Raewyn Connell. Across her works (1995; 2009; 2013; 2016), Connell conceptualizes masculinities as configurations of practice embedded in social action. As such, masculinity cannot be regarded as a singular, fixed entity embodied in the bodies or personalities of individuals assigned male at birth. In sum, this work undertakes a historiographical gender study, highlighting the competition between different models of masculinity in the Federal Capital at the dawn of modernity— a period marked by transformations in Rio's urban experience and by the intensification, in spheres of power, of debates about the nation's future.