LGBTQIAP+ sociability spaces in the city of São Paulo, Brazil, between the 1930s and 2010s

Abstract

The 21^st century has intensified the search for the rescue and valorization of the reconstruction of the memory of social groups silenced against the dominant values of society from previous periods, so that their experiences are recognized as narratives that make up social history. The research presented in this article sought, in this direction, to identify sociability spaces of LGBTQIAP+ identities in the city of São Paulo, in the period between the beginning of the 20^th century and the mid-2010s. This identification was based on spatial indications contained in bibliographical references about this subject, as well as reports from various media, which reveal the occupation of public areas and the appropriation of night entertainment establishments by these identities. From this, the mapping of places and spatial displacements of LGBTQIAP+ sociabilities were realized, organized by historical periods, on aerial photos from Google Earth, in order to create a single comparison basis. It was, then, possible to observe a persistent concentration of sociability spaces in the so-called Historic Center, with an expansion to the southwest, considering its easy access and the construction, over time, of a symbolic space of social diversity and resistance, in opposition to an almost non-existent appropriation of space in peripheral regions. Thus, the occupation dichotomy dynamics between these regions is evident due to their different activities, uses and type of users.