Ney Matogrosso: visual performance, body, and gender in Fala and O Vira under the dictatorship

Abstract

This article analyzes Ney Matogrosso’s vocal and bodily performance in the songs Fala and O Vira, released in 1973 by the band Secos & Molhados, within the context of the Brazilian military dictatorship (1964–1985). The research draws on the notions of “vocal performance” (Napolitano, 2001; Reily, 2022; Maia; Stankiewicz, 2015; Schroeder, 2010) and “bodily and visual performance” (Domenici, 2013; Gonçalves, 2004; Berger, 1977), proposing an analytical approach that articulates music, the body, and politics through the lens of gender and media studies. The focus lies on the subversion of gender and sexuality norms as expressed in Ney Matogrosso’s gestures, stage presence, and androgynous voice, whose performative aesthetics challenged the heteronormative standards upheld by the authoritarian regime. In addition, the songs are also examined through their lyrics, melodies, and the bodily performances enacted by Ney at the time. Beyond other aims, the study seeks to understand how such performative elements constituted symbolic and aesthetic forms of resistance to the repression of that period, revealing the political potential of artistic expression. This proposal belongs to an interdisciplinary field that bridges the arts, communication, and the humanities, contributing to debates on gender, dissident visibility, and the limits of censorship during Brazil’s military dictatorship.