Reinventing the Northeastern semi-arid region: from the voice of the phallus to speaking bodies

Abstract

This article emerges from the convergence of concerns regarding the imposition of social roles and behavioral models on Northeastern Brazilian subjects, grounded in a hegemonic perspective of masculinity and the ideal of macheza. Drawing on an intersectional and interpretivist approach, anchored in studies on gender performativity, the article dialogues with the film “Bacurau” (2019) and other works produced by Northeastern authors. It also interweaves analyses of literary texts, photographs, films, song lyrics, and theoretical frameworks, aiming to discuss representations of Northeastern subjects and to challenge the binary conceptions of the “macho man” and the “macho woman” from a fluid perspective on gender constructions. Based on the analyses developed herein, we observe the proliferation of alternative epistemological, artistic, and literary representations that provoke a reinvention of Northeastern identity, embracing other possibilities of masculinities beyond the macho ideal imposed on Northeastern men.