“WOW, BUT YOU ARE A LESBIAN!?”: HETERONORMATIVITY AND THE CONSTRUCTION OF BEING A LESBIAN IN ORGANIZATIONS
Heteronormativity; Lesbians; Workplace.
Considering the scarce studies on the effects of being a lesbian in the workplace, this dissertation aims to understand the effects of heteronormativity on lesbian individuals in organizations. The topic was analyzed in the light of Foucauldian references, regarding sexuality and its devices, as well as criticisms from Butler regarding the heteronormative system. Thus, it adopts a queer perspective, inspired by a post-structuralist and post-identity perspective of studies that understand gender as a socially, culturally, and historically situated construction. In-depth interviews were conducted with female workers from different fields of work who identify, define, perform, and reproduce the lesbian category. The findings were subjected to Foucauldian Discourse Analysis (FDA), which allowed the investigation of the discourses constructed about the social reality of lesbians, also their connections to power relations embedded in their social contexts