ABSTRACT
This article deals with the myths about and sexual behaviors of Brazilians. The objective is to demonstrate the manufactured nature of the myth of eroticized Brazilian sexuality. It is structured in three parts: first, the ideas and hypotheses that guide an anthropological view of sexuality are presented. I adopt a constructivist perspective on sexuality that looks to denaturalize this human realm (Vance 1995; Weeks 1986). The social construction argument about sexuality considers that this human dimension is not natural, nor universal in its form of expression, nor innate. Therefore, from a sociological point of view, it cannot be interpreted as a psychic impulse or a biological function. Anthropologists and sociologists believe that the expressions of sexuality take place in very specific contexts, which guide the experiences and the expressions of desire, emotions, as well as behaviors and physical practices (Gagnon and Simon 1973).
