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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Sociol.
Sec. Migration and Society
Volume 10 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fsoc.2025.1435207
This article is part of the Research Topic Negotiating Borders: Body Politics and Artivism in Migration View all articles
Freak to Queer bodies: affirming the Grotesque in Contemporary Art
Provisionally accepted- Postgraduate Program in Arts, Federal University of Espirito Santo, Vitória, Brazil
This article analyzes artworks that employ the grotesque to challenge hegemonic discourses. It draws a parallel between bodies depicted in 19th-century freak shows and queer bodies represented in artistic productions from the mid-1990s to the early 2000s. In both historical and modern contexts, bodily difference plays a pivotal role in defining normality. Various artistic endeavors have aimed to reconsider this premise, particularly by addressing gender issues, exemplified in the works of Brazilian artist Fernanda Magalhães and Chicana artist Laura Aguilar. This investigation employs image analysis, focusing on art history and visual culture, alongside a literature review. The findings suggest the potential for rethinking the social status of bodies labeled abnormal and highlight the political impact of contemporary art in promoting social inclusion.
Keywords: contemporary art, grotesque, body, gender, queer, freak shows, Fernanda Magalhães, Laura Aguilar
Received: 19 May 2024; Accepted: 06 Mar 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Mello. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Júlia Mello, Postgraduate Program in Arts, Federal University of Espirito Santo, Vitória, Brazil
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