Troubling the Femme Fatale Gender in the Brazilian Film Madame Satã (2002)

This chapter analyzes the film Madame Satã. It reads the protagonist Madame Satã (João) ? a male homosexual ? as a femme fatale to challenge the construction of the femme fatale based solely on the biological gender pair: male/female (Stables 1998: 177). It draws on Butler's (1990a) discussion of gender, which asserts that ‘there is no gender identity behind the expression of gender; […] identity is performatively constituted by the very “expressions” that are said to be its results (p.25).’ This chapter highlights commonalities that link Satã and the femme fatale to argue that both pose a threat to social gender construction rules and challenge the acceptable gender roles dictated by social order.