Quadrinhos Resistentes — Graphic Novels Against Gender-Based Violence in the Lusophone World: A Mapping
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21814/rlec.6644Keywords:
gender-based violence, graphic novels, Lusophone world, Brazil, PortugalAbstract
Gender-based violence, defined as any act of violence perpetrated due to the victim’s gender (Boyle, 2019), is a pervasive phenomenon with substantial socio-economic costs. In Portugal alone, gender-based violence is estimated to cost the State 8,4 million euros annually (European Institute for Gender Equality, 2021), while in Brazil, one of the most widespread forms of gender violence, violence against women, costs the government approximately 214,42 billion Brazilian reais, or 38,60 billion euros (Federação das Indústrias do Estado de Minas Gerais, 2023). In parallel, the graphic novel and comics market is experiencing significant growth in both countries, with Portugal reporting a 73% increase in sales in 2021 (Coelho, 2022; Queirós, 2022), and Brazil seeing a rise in the production of printed comic titles (Martinez, 2023). Although a growing body of feminist graphic narratives and related scholarly research exists, no systematic study has yet examined comics and graphic novels that specifically address gender-based violence within the Lusophone context. This article seeks to fill that gap by providing a comprehensive mapping of graphic novels published in Brazil and Portugal that engage with this theme. A total of 40 graphic narratives were initially identified through a defined methodology. Of these, 24 titles were selected for detailed analysis, based on two main criteria: compliance with the adopted definition of a graphic novel and the centrality of gender-based violence within the narrative. The mapping revealed significant thematic and formal heterogeneity across the corpus. Key findings include the dominance of the Brazilian comics scene in the production of graphic novels that address patriarchal violence and a significant presence of fictional works.
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