ABSTRACT Title of Dissertation: WHICH TEAM DO YOU PLAY FOR?: VISIBILITY AND QUEERING IN BRAZILIAN SOCCER Cara Knaub Snyder, Doctor of Philosophy, 2019 Dissertation directed by: Dr. Ashwini Tambe, Associate Professor, Department of Women’s Studies Abstract: Brazilians designate their country “O País de Futebol” (The Country of Football) with a singular vigor. But from its earliest years, the sport has been defined along masculine lines; women in Brazil were actually banned from playing soccer for four decades (1940 - 1979). The exclusion of women, gay men, and trans athletes has come under considerable challenge in the past two decades. This dissertation traces how marginalized groups have claimed access to soccer, and what it means for processes of visibility, assimilation, and ultimately, queering the game itself. Combining ethnographic, archival, and visual methods, the project unfolds over three case studies focused on women, trans, and gay players, respectively. The first chapter presents a history of Brazilian women’s soccer: using media sources and interviews, it tracks tensions between women athletes’ demands to be seen and the gendered forms of disciplining that have accompanied their increased visibility. Such disciplining has contributed to the whitening and feminization of women’s soccer, as seen in the case of the Paulistana tournament, and to the subsequent migration of Brazil’s top athletes. These migrant players have since used their transnational networks to jockey for recognition and a more equitable distribution of resources. My second chapter offers an ethnography of Brazil’s first trans men’s soccer team, the Brazilian Meninos Bons de Bola (MBB, or Soccer Star Boys), to explore futebol as a site for combating invisibility and violence, creating transness, and queer worldmaking. Using a combination of focus groups, ethnographic observations, and interviews, I explore how team members theorize oppression, survive transphobia, and thrive. My third chapter analyzes the challenges facing the Brazilian BeesCats, a cis gay men’s soccer team, as they form the first Brazilian contingent to participate in the international Gay Games. Drawing from ethnographic data from the 2018 Paris Gay Games, I examine the ethnosexual frontiers of this international LGBT sporting event. Ultimately, I argue, the athletes described in this dissertation make claims on their national sport as part of deeper struggles for belonging. In the context of a culturally rightward turn in Brazil, they are also queering futebol and subverting gender ordering. WHICH TEAM DO YOU PLAY FOR? VISIBILITY AND QUEERING IN BRAZILIAN SOCCER by Cara K. Snyder Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Maryland, College Park, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2019 Advisory Committee: Ashwini Tambe, Chair Brenda Elsey Zita Nunes Iván Ramos David Sartorius Daryle Williams © Copyright by Cara Knaub Snyder 2019 ii Dedication Την αφιερώνω σε εσένα, Αντωνάκη μου And to my querida familia: Loretta, Will, Julia, James, Ruby, Nathaniel, Avi, Εύη, και Κορνήλιος iii Acknowledgements Writing a dissertation is an isolating process, but I could not have done it alone. I am grateful for the communities of scholars, family, and friends who made this possible. First and foremost, I thank my adviser, Ashwini Tambe. Over the course of five years Dr. Tambe has guided me through this process with rigor and generosity; I am infinitely grateful for her incisive editing and for all she taught me about thinking, writing, teaching, mentoring, and feminist knowledge making. My committee is an academic dream team. Brenda Elsey inspired critical readings of futebol and reminded me of the urgency of this work. Zita Nunes encouraged me to push boundaries as she invited me into her own research process, modeling the type of multi-lingual, transnational work that is possible. Iván Ramos brought theory alive with infectious energy and creative ideas about performance, ethnography, and lo cuir. With great care, David Sartorius equipped me to be a transnational Latin Americanist and taught me to consider myself a professional. Daryle Williams (who also happens to be an incredible athlete) enriched my project with his profound understanding of Brazil. My committee’s mentorship has been dynamic and exceptional—I have felt supported not only in realizing my project, but in navigating academia in general. Beyond the ways each of them has impacted my research trajectory, they are examples of the type of scholar I hope to become. Gratidão for the futebolistas (and fans) who I had the honor and pleasure of working alongside: Sissi, Rapha, Pedro, Pietro, Vo, Isa, Aira, Lu, Maúricio, os MBB, Flávio, André, Douglas, os BeesCats, and the anonymous athletes in this dissertation. May we continue to work juntes to dream and to realize um futebol melhor. Dedico iv meu trabalho também a minha família sertaneja e nordestina: Rafaela, Ana Paula, Rita (em memory), Thiago, Jeziel, Dona Guiomar, Ciro, Artidonio, Marcelo, Ângela, tudes no IF-Sertão, na UNIVASF, em Petrolina-Juazeiro, e nos grupos de rúgbi that planted the seeds for this project. Sinto saudades everyday. To Patricia Grijo and the folks at Fulbright Brazil who are partly responsible for this life-long love affair with o país do futebol. Returning from Brazil to Maryland to complete my doctorate was a homecoming. It was a gift to become Dr. Cara in the place where I was born and raised. My most heartfelt thanks to my mom and dad, Loretta and William, my partner Antonios, to my sister Julia, my twin brother Nathaniel, and the new members of the family James, Aviva and Ruby. Thanks to my childhood and neighborhood friends who made me laugh and kept me connected to the world: Monica (womb to tomb, baby), Ro, Sean, Kate, Mac, Sarah OD, Mike, Sarah R., Joe, Jamie, George, Greg, Katie, Gayle, Jill, Daniel, Persephone, Castor, Theodora, Sophia, Magdalena. These deep roots kept me afloat. Thanks to my Agnes Scott sisters whom I love so dearly and who remind me daily of our mission to think deeply, live honorably and engage the social and intellectual challenges of our times: Maya, Alison, Shannon, Nikki, Louisa, Olivia, Dara, Erica, Delia, Indira, Emily, Aimee, Alexa, Katie M. (honorary member). Obrigada to my ASC professors, whose transformative pedagogy is the reason I want to teach: Professors Kiss, Allende, Morris, Scott, Cochran, Cunningham, Schneider, Ocasio, Norat, Schlig, Holzgrafe, Lund, Hackett, I. Williams. Shout out to coaches Joe Bergin and Jolene Aikin (and to ASC athletics, in general), to my mestres v Carcará, Cabeça e Fran, to Zé Alpuim, to Barb Bernstein, to CF Beltsville, to Caitlin Fisher and to all the educators who taught me to be an athlete (and to aspire to athletavism). While old connections sustained me, new ones also nurtured my growth. I’m grateful to my students who fill me with joy and hope. Gracias a mi comunidad LASC, who will always be for me the corazón y alma of my time at UMD: Sabrina, Victor, Britta, Eric, Ana M., Kristofer, Ana S., Thiago, Ana R., Daniela, Mariluz, Mariana, Jonathan, Sarah D., Sergio, Monica, Nohely, Jenn, Lori, Eben, Jesse. Thanks to Brazilianist scholars with whom I have had the pleasure of collaborating including Ben Cowan, Ana Maria Veiga, Cristina Wolff, Alvaro Jarrín, Jay Sosa, Janet Chernela, Liz Pamella and Susana Amaral. Last but certainly not least, I am grateful to my colleagues in Women’s Studies who have been part of my journey to varying degrees, at various stages: Alexis Lothian, LaMonda Horton-Stallings, Ruth Zambrana, Michelle Rowley, JV Sapinoso, Bobby Bugard, Gwen Warman, Seung-kyung Kim, Elsa Barkley-Brown, Katie King, Lynn Bolles, Debbie Rosenfelt, Catherine Schuler, Bonnie Thornton-Dill, Sara Haq, Jocelyn Coates, Cheyenne Stevens, Anna Storti, DB Bauer, Eva Peskin, Lenora Knowles, Clara Montague, Michele Prince, Jess Vooris, Avery Dame, Cassandra Dame-Griff, Justin Sprague, Donnesha Blake, Cristina Perez, Jamie Madden, Renina Jarmon, T. Hoagland, Cae Joseph-Massena, Jamie Coull, Sina Lee, Les Gray, Stephanie Cork, Adreanna Nattiel and Sarah Scriven. I acknowledge the folks at UMD who were also key parts of my time here: Linda, Susan, Robyn, Ralph, vi Jeff, Matt, Jason, J. Padios, Nancy, Dave. And thank you to anyone I forgot to name in the rush to the finish line! vii Table of Contents Dedication .................................................................................................................... iii Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................... iv Table of Contents .......................................................................................................... v List of Figures ............................................................................................................... x List of Abbreviations ................................................................................................... xi Introduction: Gendered Order and Progress in the Nation of Soccer .......................... 1 The Promise and Perils of Visibility ......................................................................... 7 Research Trajectory ................................................................................................ 11 Chapter Outlines ..................................................................................................... 14 Chapter One: Feminizing Futebol ..............................................................................