"...O nefando e abominável pecado de sodomia e contra natura: o caso de Clara Fernandes e a sodomia feminina na inquisição portuguesa, no Séc. XVI

Abstract

This study aims to understand how female sodomy was perceived and treated by the Portuguese Inquisition and by modern society through the case of Clara Fernandes, convicted of this practice in trial number 12418, conducted in Portugal between 1555 and 1560. In general, the punishments imposed on women accused of sodomy were less severe than those applied to men due to disagreements among theologians and religious authorities, which reflected limited knowledge about the female body and female sexuality. Therefore, this study discusses these conceptual conflicts and examines how religious dogmas and moral values were employed to control and repress female sexuality. The research is based on the works of Ligia Bellini, Francisco Bethencourt, Adriano Prosperi, Luiz Mott, and Judith C. Brown, as well as on articles and dissertations addressing the subject of female homoeroticism.