Nascidas para morrer : um estudo dialógico sobre a identidade trans em noticiários online da Paraíba

Abstract

Violence against transgender individuals is a reality in Brazil, a country that stands out internationally for still allowing people to be driven to death simply for constituting themselves as heterogeneous subjects who deviate from hegemonic historical standards. In this context, Paraíba is considered one of the states with the highest rates of trans people’s mortality by homicide, according to the National Association of Travestis and Transsexuals (Antra), and lacks effective policies to combat this situation. Considering journalism as a mechanism for the production and circulation of meanings, this study investigated, selected, and analyzed dialogical relations and discourses concerning trans identities, observing how these social subjects are constructed through the online news genre, based on statements extracted from non-traditional media portals in Paraíba. The theoretical and methodological foundation of the research is based on studies from the Bakhtin Circle (Bakhtin, 2012; 2013; 2014; 2015; 2020; 2022; Volóchinov, 2019; 2021; Medviédev, 2012), as well as other researchers from this Circle (Brait, 2005; 2012; 2014; Fiorin, 2022; Francelino, 2007; Sobral, 2009; Faraco, 2009; 2012; 2013; Almeida, 2011; 2022). It also draws on studies related to transgender identities and social gender (Butler, 2015; Jesus, 2012; Bento, 2018; Louro, 2001), and on authors who discuss journalism and its reconfigurations in the digital age (Marcondes Filho, 1989; Canavilhas, 2014; 2021; Traquina, 2005; Zuboff, 2019; Bradshaw, 2014). The statements were analyzed considering three elements: thematic content, compositional construction, and style of the online news discourse genre, aiming to achieve the general objective of the research: to analyze the fabric of the discourse genre in online news from Paraíba’s newspapers, focusing on dialogical relations and the axiological positions of the press, in order to understand how these narratives address gender issues, influence social perceptions of trans individuals, and contribute either to the maintenance or to the deconstruction of stigmas, promoting critical reflection on representation and violence mirrored in the local context. The specific objectives were: i) to discuss the fabric of the discourse genre (theme, style, and composition) in online news from Paraíba’s newspapers; ii) to identify the dialogical relations present in the statements in order to understand the axiological positions of the Paraíba press; iii) to analyze how the statements value gender issues and whether they result in the maintenance or deconstruction of stigmas; iv) to promote reflection on the online journalistic fabric that, by amplifying discourses on trans subjects, reflects and refracts violence—particularly in the local context of Paraíba. This is a qualitative, descriptive, and interpretative study, based on the categories of analysis: Refraction, Valuation and Axiology. In total, 10 news articles published between 2022 and 2023 were analyzed, from the news portals PB Hoje, Central Vale Notícia, Paraíba Todo Dia, Política por ELAS, PB Agora, Termômetro da Política, Blog do Jucélio, Paraíba Criativa, Polêmica Paraíba, and O Liberal. The results show that the statements reflect and refract marks of violence, criminal and/or sexual practices, portraying heterogeneous trans identities that are targets of crimes such as transphobia, marginalization, and the reinforcement of stereotypes. Some portals, however, act as spokespersons for the trans community, promoting inclusion initiatives and repositioning trans subjects in narratives that break with the previously observed enunciative chain of violence. Despite advances in journalistic agendas aimed at eradicating transphobia in Paraíba, the reproduction of violence still predominates in local journalism.