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Journal article Open Access Scopus Source The journal / series is indexed in Scopus (SCImago list). The article itself has not been verified. 0 Citations Quartil Q1

Prejudice but no pride: The Portuguese Universal Decimal Classification’s labelling of sexual orientation

Paulo Vicente , Ana Lúcia Terra , Maria Cristina Vieira de Freitas , Maria Manuela Tavares de Matos Cardoso
ISLA — Instituto Politécnico de Gestão e Tecnologia
IFLA Journal, 24 01 2024
DOI: 10.1177/03400352231205712

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Abstract
Critical cataloguing aims to study cases of social injustice, misrepresentation, negative biases, offensive terminologies, and hegemonic and oppressive hierarchical structures in the representation of communities and identities in knowledge organization systems. The aim of this study is to provide a critical analysis of the representation of sexual orientation in the Portuguese Universal Decimal Classification, grounded in a qualitative content analysis method. The results show that the principle of exhaustiveness does not manifest itself in the representation of sexual orientation. The absence of the term ‘heterosexuality’ mirrors the heteronormative hegemony, while the minoritization of ‘lesbianism’, but not of ‘male homosexuality’, reflects the patriarchal hegemony. The representation of sexual orientation carries the historical pathologization of sexual orientations other than heterosexuality. The Portuguese Universal Decimal Classification conveys negative biases and misrepresents sexual orientation in a way that is irreconcilable with present-day reality. Critical thinking must be encouraged within the library community and the Universal Decimal Classification should be promptly revised and updated.

Keywords

#Universal Decimal Classification #sexual orientation #heteronormativity #heterosexuality #lesbianism #male homosexuality #pathologization of sexuality #knowledge organization systems #library classification revision #Pride #Prejudice (legal term) #Portuguese #Labelling #Brazilian Portuguese

Bibliographic Details

Publication Type Journal article
Publication Year 2024
Journal / Conference / Work IFLA Journal
Quartile (SCImago) Q1
Scopus Indexing Indexed source (via SCImago)

ISLA Authors & Affiliations

A
Ana Lúcia Silva Terra
anaterra@iscap.ipp.pt ID: BF11-FB23-53A5
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