"Tribadists, safists and clitorists" in the discourse of the doctor José Ricardo Pires de Almeida: his contribution to the studies of moral hygiene in RIo de Janeiro (1832-1906)
History of Brazil, Women, Lesbianity, Medicine
From the 19th century onwards, Rio de Janeiro underwent a transformation in its urban and social structure. With the increase in cases of illnesses, the unhealthy conditions of the city and the growing number of people, a process of sanitation began. Among these problems, people's behavior was a concern added to the other difficulties encountered in the path of urbanization and morality. Debauchery became a topic that was previously addressed by the church, but it passed into the hands of hygienist doctors, those who graduated from the medical school. This theme enters into the issues of the sexuality of individuals, including lesbian women. The present work presents an analysis of these processes and of how a doctor, José Ricardo Pires de Almeida, approached this subject in his book "Homosexualismo: A libertinagem no Rio de Janeiro" of 1906.