Produção de subjetividades de crianças e jovens em situação de acolhimento: adoção tardia, futebol e outras práticas corporais

Abstract

This thesis set out to explore how subjectivities are produced among children and youth living in three foster homes in the city of Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul. The study focused on understanding the daily routines of these institutions in order to problematize and map the narratives and practices experienced by the subjects in these spaces. This is a qualitative study that employed methodologies drawn from contemporary ethnography—specifically, “observant participation” and “comprehensive interviews”. Fieldwork within the foster homes were conducted from March 2022 to October 2023, with one one-hour visit per week to each institution. The study examined how both discursive and non-discursive practices shape the subjectivities of institutionalized children and youth. The final output of the research was organized into three independent articles, each with its own objective: the first one analyzed the sociohistorical reconfigurations of foster homes in Brazilian society and questioned the phenomenon of late adoption; the second one explored the role of soccer in shaping the subjectivities of institutionalized youth; and the third and last one aimed to problematize the production of subjectivity of two transgender adolescents living in a foster home. The study concluded that the subjectivities of children and youth in foster homes are shaped by discursive and non-discursive practices present in the broader social fabric. Soccer, leisure activities, school, and discourses on body, gender, and sexuality emerge as key elements in the constitution of these subjectivities. These individuals are also shaped by the singularities of their condition as excluded and institutionalized subjects, particularly through discourses and practices surrounding adoption and late adoption.