ENTRE SILÊNCIOS E RESISTÊNCIAS: VIVÊNCIAS LGBTFÓBICAS NA UNIVERSIDADE NO MATO GROSSO DO SUL

Abstract

The present qualitative study aimed to understand LGBTphobic experiences and the resistance strategies employed by LGBT students within the context of a public university located in the interior of Mato Grosso do Sul. The research sought to analyze the discourses that sustain such violence and to identify the possible forms of resistance. The methodological approach was qualitative research, employing semi-structured interviews with LGBT students from the campus. Data analysis was conducted using the theoretical-methodological framework of French Discourse Analysis, which enabled the examination of the relationship between discourse, ideology, and historical context. The results indicated that LGBTphobia in the academic environment manifests in subtle and naturalized ways, reflecting social norms and the discriminatory logic of the region. The participants’ statements revealed that institutional silence surrounding sexuality and the lack of information operate as powerful mechanisms of power, delimiting what can be said and who can be heard, thereby reinforcing heteronormativity and restricting the expression of diversity. In contrast, discourses of resistance and a desire for transformation also emerged, expressed through demands for broader debate, staff training, and identity affirmation. Finally, the findings suggest that although the university reproduces structures of violence, it also represents a space of potential for symbolic rupture and reconstruction in the face of oppression.