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 Grants and Fellowships

Project: "The Travelling Venuses: Brazilian Travestis,Transformistas and Drag Queens in German Travestieshow (1960s-Today)"

Since the 1960s, Brazilian travestis, transformistasand drag queens have performed on Western European stages. This proposal analyses the constitution of artistic and professional careers of Brazilian migrants in the Travestieshow scene in Germany from the 1960s onwards, observing transformations and continuities in a globalised entertainment market. By investigating migration projects related to artistic careers, the proposal addresses gaps in the scholarship on Brazilian migration to Germany and LGBTQ migration from Brazil to Europe. Through analysing the social markers of difference (such as race and nationality) in both artists’ and media discourses, I seek to understand the role of racial and national stereotypes in artistic careers and the entertainment sector. The methodology includes archive research, in-depth interviews, participant observation, and digital ethnography. Research outputs consist of an ethnography of Brazilian migrant artists in Germany, theoretical developments on migration, social markers of difference and anthropology of transnational networks. Partial and final results will be disseminated through articles and presentations at conferences. This research contributes to a critical analysis of processes of otherness in German and Brazilian societies, as well as documenting the history of overlooked artists.

Monograph

Mascarenhas Neto, R. (2020). Da praça aos palcos: caminhos da construção de uma carreira drag queen. Editora Devires, Brazil. ISBN: 978-65-86481-08-2

Chapters (selection)

Mascarenhas Neto, R. (2023). “Mães, filhas, irmãs e queens: Reflexões sobre as redes de afeto entre drag queens”. In: Freitas, E; Pinto, R. & Zanoli, V. (orgs), Política, Cultura e Sexualidade na América Latina. Editora da UFCAT, Brazil.

Zanoli, V. & Mascarenhas, R. (2019). “We are favela: an ethnographic account on the production of identities, cultures and places”. In: Brunnström, P. & Claesson, R. (Eds) Creating the City: Identity, Memory and Participation. Conference proceedings (pp. 421-440). Malmö University Publications in Urban Studies - MAPIUS (23), Sweden. DOI: http://doi.org/10.24834/2043/28212

Mascarenhas Neto, R. (2015). “Estudos sobre mulheres, gênero e sexualidade no Brasil: os Encontros Anuais da ANPOCS (1979-2012)”. (Poster). In: Ramos, T. R. O., Zandoná, J., Duarte, C. R., Osório, J. T. (Eds) Fazendo Gênero 10 Imagens e Memória: um livro-pôster (p.95). Florianópolis: Copiart.

Articles (selection)

Mascarenhas Neto, R. (2023). “‘Die schwarze Venus aus Rio de Janeiro’: notes on race, nationality, class, gender, and sexuality in an artistic career between Brazil and Germany”. Travessia – Revista do Migrante, 96. Available at: https://travessia.emnuvens.com.br/travessia/article/view/1151

Schmidt, B. B. & Mascarenhas Neto, R. (2021). “History and Memory of Dissident Sexualities from Latin America: An Analysis of the Foundation, Current Activities, and Projects of AMAI LGBTQIA+”. The International Journal of Information, Diversity, & Inclusion, 5(4). DOI: https://doi.org/10.33137/ijidi.v5i4.36914

Mascarenhas Neto, R. (2021). “É tudo uma máfia”: trânsitos e tensões na busca de um lugar no palco. Sexualidad, Salud y Sociedad, 37. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1590/1984-6487.sess.2021.37.e21213a

Mascarenhas Neto, R. & Zanoli, V. (2019). “Black, LGBT and from the favelas: an ethnographic account on disidentificatory performances of an activist group in Brazil”. Culture Unbound, 11(1), pp. 124-140. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3384/cu.2000.1525.2019111124

Mascarenhas Neto, R. & Zanoli, V. (2016) “Escola, política, família e religião: disputas em torno da chamada ideologia de gênero”. Novos Debates - fórum de debates em antropologia, 2(1), pp. 77-81. Available at: http://novosdebates.abant.org.br/images/pdf/v2n2.pdf