Traces of homophobic bullying in the memory of Chilean dissidents

Abstract

The article presents the results of an investigation carried out with sexual dissidents, who were subjected to homophobic bullying in their passage through the school system in the last three decades. Basically, 40 dissidents residing in the central-southern macrozone of Chile were interviewed, in order to reveal the traces that homophobic bullying left in their memories and life stories. From the methodological point of view, the qualitative study, based on life stories, was privileged. Among the main findings is the existence of dissidents who seem not to have overcome bullying, others, on the other hand, in which painful episodes surface on certain occasions and, finally, another group that despite traumatic memories “managed to turn the page”. However, the common denominator for all of them is that homophobic bullying was not a casual episode, but a painful milestone that marked their lives.