Polêmicas em torno da sexualidade e livros para infância: um estudo interdisciplinar

Abstract

This work analyzes, interdisciplinarily, two contemporary controversies involving books written for children and the theme of sexuality. Specifically, it examines the controversy initiated by Jair Messias Bolsonaro about the book Aparelho Sexual e Cia in 2018, and the one provoked by Pietra Bertolazzi about the comic adaptation of The Diary of Anne Frank in 2021. Above all, this study seeks to understand how the discussion of sexuality topics with children is idealized and how these discussions are perceived in digital media. The relevance of this subject lies in its intrinsic relationship with the wave of conservatism that swept over Brazil, culminating in the electoral victory of the extreme right in 2018 and its undemocratic governance in the subsequent four years. To this end, it was necessary to establish dialogues between the researcher's primary field, French Tradition Discourse Analysis (DA), and other disciplines such as history, political science, social communication, etc. We started with two initial assumptions: first, that Brazilian society has a space where a significant amount of texts are produced and circulated regarding which books should be read by children, particularly in schools, when these books deal with topics related to human sexuality; and second, that within this space, there are at least two conflicting discursive positions: one that supports discussing sexuality with children in schools using educational books, aiming also to protect them from abuse and discrimination, and another that views this role as exclusively belonging to parents and responsible adults, not to government or school institutions. Books written for children often face attacks and scrutiny from different perspectives. Some questions arise from social struggles to change the status quo, such as anti-racist movements, while others come from conservative groups advocating for the maintenance and preservation of traditions, such as the heteronormative family. However, these issues are not of the same nature. Despite employing similar media tactics and propositions, such as calling for the cancellation of authors and the surveillance of schools, these groups are on opposite ideological and political spectrums. Moreover, there is a significant difference between the complaints of activist fathers and mothers and the determinations of institutional political actors to collect and ban works: the former do not wield the power that the latter do.