Have the courage to feel proud

The disputes of meaning and the LGBTQIAPN+ founding discourse

Abstract

The objective of this article is to interpret, utilizing Pecheutian Discourse Analysis, the potential meaning effects inherent in the statement “vote with pride,” the slogan of São Paulo's 26th LGBT+ Pride Parade held in 2022. Additionally, we aim to establish connections, drawing on discursive memory, with the foundational discourse of pride, particularly evident when juxtaposing “pride” against “shame,” historically imposed on the LGBTQIAPN+ community. The rationale for this article is rooted in the necessity, within the realm of linguistics, to deconstruct the apparentness that governs this statement, intending to amplify the silenced and normalized experiences and bodies of LGBTQIAPN+ individuals in Brazil. The methodology driving the analysis and selection of the corpus entails: a) scrutinizing the prevailing common sense that underpins the notion of pride as a self-evident assertion; b) (de)superficializing this examination to uncover the unsaid elements inherent in the construction of meaning; c) exploring, through historical context, the potential founding discourse of national pride. The theoretical framework draws from Orlandi's (2001) studies on founding discourse, Pêcheux's (2014) insights into discursive machinery, Trevisan's (2018) considerations on historicity, and Leandro-Ferreira's (2013) conceptualizations of body and subject.