Análise histórico-enunciativa da palavra xibungo

The novel Jubiabá by Jorge Amado is a work in which a series of social practices that interest researchers can be observed. The narrative depicts how the main character, Balduíno, behaves to conform to the heterosexual standards demanded by the society in which he lives, as well as the way he interacts with other characters. In this sense, the present study aims to conduct a historical-enunciative analysis of the word xibungo in Jubiabá, using the analytical concepts of rewriting through synonymy (GUIMARÃES, 2018) and word-pulls-word (SILVA, 1996). By consulting the meanings of xibungo in the Novo Dicionário Aurélio da Língua Portuguesa (1975), it becomes clear that the meanings of this word involve issues of sexuality and gender – meanings that were historically constructed in a society that, for centuries, condemned homosexuality. Thus, the word xibungo establishes semantic relationships with other words, enabling an analysis of how words maintain a direct relationship with history and the ways of hierarchizing subjects in society. Furthermore, the meanings of xibungo bring to light how the concept of masculinity is socially constructed and how masculinities can be plural and heterogeneous.