The objective is to understand the process of construction and evolution of male gender identity in Brazilian Northeast, based on study of forró songs. Based on analyzes of the lyrics as a semiotic territory, the corpus of research was composed of letters of iconic representatives of each period of forró from the Brazilian composer Luiz Gonzaga to contemporaneity, organized in the following categories ‘Nordestinidade’ (to be from the Northeast”, ‘’male imagery’, ‘female imagery’ and ‘gender violence’. From the analysis emerged that cultural identity of Northeast was historically consolidated through patriarchal principles. Forró lyrics discourse showed how these principle were adapted to the market laws of a globalized world, progressively perceiving women as a commodity thus legitimizing their subordination. In this context it is emphasized the importance of understanding cultural symbols and their role in the construction of male and female subjectivities in Brazilian Northeast.
Gender identity; Culture; Violence against women
