GENDER AND SEXUALITY IN BRAZIL
On the issue of gender discrimination and rights for queer people in the context of Brazil, there is a divide in freedom for LGBTQ people. Although there has been some effort to create policies in favor of the LGBTQ community, LGBTQ individuals are still subject to rejection from larger hegemonic systems. The government of Brazil has been acting towards cultivating the civil rights of the LGBT community. More specifically, these rights are expected to defend the members of these communities from social stigma and discrimination, which come as a result of their sexual orientation and gender identities. As a result, the government of Brazil constantly makes various attempts of guaranteeing that the representatives of LGBT population have the ability to exist openly and deprived of any violence and stigma, and accept equal civil liberties, individual independence, and freedom of expression. Nonetheless, the question of why is violence and discernment against LGBT community is widely spread in Brazil still stands. The primary objective of this research paper is to establish and assess the difficulties that the LGBT minority groups and trans-women in particular face in Brazil at the modern day, as well as introduce certain solutions to these challenges.
In the course of the last ten years, the administration of the country significantly addressed issues that the LGBT minority groups face with regard to their equality among the general population. On a national level, a vast majority of these improvements was a result of the close cooperation of the executive and judicial branches. However, the legislative branch, the National Congress in particular, continued to be rather inactive, even aggressive towards the civil and human rights of the LGBTQ+ communities(Castle 2008). The crucial aspect for any progress was the sturdy support of Brazilian LGBTQ+ civil right organizations. Many of these organizations argues that the government of Brazil has to accept the global tendency of acknowledging LGBTQ+ rights as basic civil liberties (Moreira 2012), in order for any differences to occur. These combined efforts of national non-governmental organizations, for example, Grupo Gay da Bahia and Associação Brasileira de Gays, Lésbicas, Bissexuals Travestis e Transsexuals (ABGLT), was started in the beginning of the century and initially resulted in placing Brazil on a dominant position in the worldwide, local, and state domains as a supporter of the basic rights of the members of the LGBTQ+ minority groups (Friedman 2009).
In spite of the insufficient amount of federal regulations that would protect LGBTQ+ individuals from violence and social stigma, a vast majority of local institutions have introduced various safety regulations specifically for these communities. These regulations prohibit intolerance on the basis of the sexual orientation and gender identity; in addition, these strategies are expected to offer the same admission to governmental service areas as the heterosexual population. The primary instances of these programs can be grasped in the states of Bahia (1997), the Brasilia Federal District (2000), Rio de Janeiro (2000), and Sao Paulo (2001)(Castle 2008). Moreover, as it was distinguished by the 2016 Human Rights Campaign report, the insufficient amount of centralized antidiscrimination securities and hate crime regulations for the brutal actions on the basis of the sexual orientation and gender identity exemplifies a significant breach with regard to the protection of the LGBTQ+ minority groups and trans women as well on the state level.
In the case of violence and discrimination of the LGBTQ+ communities in Brazil, homophobia and transphobia have usually functioned as a prevention of the efficient endorsement of social responsibilities and citizenship for the members of the LGBTQ+ population along with the fight against anti-LGBTQ+ brutality. Although Brazil is known for one of the finest legal securities on the planet, the studies on the actual experiences of trans women and other representatives of LGBTQ+ minority groups demonstrates that these groups of population are forced to deal discrimination and brutality on a daily basis up to the present moment (Nardi 2006). In the long run, this breach plays a significant role in the constant matter of violence against LGBT population in Brazil (Nardi 2011).
Furthermore, according to the recent research on the subject of transgender community in Brazil, trans women in this country are usually involved in professions with high risks, for example, sex and entertainment industries, which is in high demand in Brazil. Trans women who are working in these areas have a tendency of being more susceptible to due to increased levels of distinguishability and personal exposure in the framework of these industries. As it has been demonstrated in recent research, transgender men and women are usually employed in these activities because of the challenges that are connected to entering other labor markets or even receiving education in Brazil. Apart from the social stigma that transgender women and men have to face on a daily basis, their experience in the workforce can also be tainted by the labor cards of transgender Brazilian citizens, where there is an apparent dissimilarity between the photo on the card and their personal look. This can stop transgender men and women from gaining all necessary permits for being officially employed in other industries (Nardi 2006).
The explanations for discrimination and violence that the LGBT communities are constantly facing in Brazil can be connected to the fact that the public programs and social policies, which are initially expected to endorse equal opportunities for this group of population, are not efficient. The existing strategies that are currently in practice are not correctly applied, nor are they financed and spread by the administration. By the means of the implementation of an arrangement of all-inclusive strategies, which have to be applied all at once for them to be efficient, the overall amount of violence and discriminations that the LGBT minority groups and trans-women in particular experience on a daily basis can be decreased in this country. These strategies can include the following:
(1) criminalization of homophobia and transphobia;
(2) implementation of the educational initiatives for police workers and the members of general population that will be expected to inform the community on the subject of the LGBT minority groups;
(3) establishment of the specialized police stations for the members of the LGBT communities;
(4) increase of the amount of recommendation centers for the members of the LGBT minority groups all over the country.
Expression of identity closely correlates to the rights allocated to queer individuals. Based on dominant society, identification can operate as a blueprint for the accessibility of rights. Identity is a concept severely attributed to one’s role in society. In spaces that reject the expression of queer identities, it can be difficult for individuals to grow and prosper. “The construction of identity has been interpreted in different ways through history, and it has had a strong impact in the development of different theories of rights. In human rights history, one can distinguish at least three definitions of identity: an apparently abstract individual identity, binary individual identities, and circumstance-based yet non-determinist identities” (Ikawa 2014).
As queer identifying individuals, trans women have not been historically protected by legislation. Access to health care and benefits has been scarce for trans people, more specifically black trans women. So the notion of identity continues to manifest as a marker of social mobility and recognition. Since Queer people are a marginalized population, their identities can be lost within the constructs of dominant society. In Bahía Brazil, LGBTQ people are condemned by hegemonic society. 40% of the LGBTQ murders in the world occur in Brazil and Bahia is the second state of Brazil that has the highest rate of murder for LGBTQ people (Julho Das Pretas). The high murder rate makes the public expression of queer identity life threatening for LGBTQ people in Bahía.
However, in the absence of public safe space, there are hidden places where LGBTQ individuals can openly express their identity. Spaces such as Capoeira houses in Rio Vermelho, Salvador practice ideas of tolerance and gender inclusivity. Tati Piment, a lesbian capoeirista and member of this Capoeira house explained her personal experience as a queer woman in Brazil. She mentioned that her family consisted of herself and three other lesbian sisters. (Piment 2017) “My mother was afraid for me,” she said, “but she got used to it over time.” (Piment 2017) The issue of family acceptance is another factor LGBTQ+ individuals have to deal with. There are some individuals, such as Tati, who have a fairly easy time coming out to their families. Tati did not go into depth of her experience, but she displayed a hue of confidence that was surely present when she told her mother about her identity. Tati’s ability to be unrestricted to her identity, both at work and home, has proved to be beneficial for her. Unfortunately, not many LGBTQ+ individuals share the same case. There is still rampant homophobia and transphobia within Brazil, mostly stemming from conditioned values from past generations. Many people have to stay in the closet and hide their identity solely to survive.
The interest of leaving the closet or coming out is integral in the development of queer identity within communities of color. One study by Aryel Ken Murasaki and Sandra Maria Galheigo on homosexuality and diversity in Brazil aimed to uncover the, “perceptions and representations of young people about the process of assuming their homosexuality and about the impacts on their daily life, regarding autonomy, inclusion and social participation” by using research to explore queer youth and their social networks. “It is relevant to highlight the importance of the next social network for the process of leaving the closet. Especially in the family, school, work and social and cultural spaces” (Murasaki and Galheigo 2016). The act of coming out is used to affirm queer identity. In social spaces it can signify the assertion of individual queer identities under a heteronormative hegemony. For many LGBTQ+ individuals, coming out is like a sigh of relief, a moment where they feel the weight of hiding their sexual identity, off of their shoulders.
Queer identity is a multifaceted phenomenon that has been called into question by many marginalized groups resisting oppression against sexual minorities in Brazil. At times there can be discernment of members within the queer community. In May of 2000 in the city of Sao Paulo, the Lesbian Movement of Camphinas, asserted their concerns in the context of an environment dominated by gay men: “Several women claimed that gay men who cared little about “lesbian concerns” often, if not always, dominated mixed groups. Their experiences echo, on the practical level, that ‘we cannot assume that men and women, specifically gay men and lesbians, experience the same ‘comforts’ or the same injustices’” (Castle 2008). Although these women were parts of a larger LGBTQ group, they faced male dominated oppression in the margins of this disenfranchised group. Their identities as lesbian women were invalidated in the context of a resistance led by LGBTQ people and dominated by gay men. Thus, the notion of justice for queer people is a complex idea that can be lost in larger efforts for resistance based on what identities are perceived as valid by hegemonic and marginalized groups. Although queer people have been publicly shamed for their identity, queer culture has heavily impacted heteronormative spaces in Brazil.
In the context of a society that is intolerant of marginalized identities, there are spaces created to build communities in resistance to hegemonic society. Spaces like these perpetuate the importance of values such as education and health to aid in the social mobility of oppressed groups. One example of a safe space is an organization called Bahia Street based in Salvador da Bahia, Brazil. Bahia Street, founded in 1996, was created to provide young Brazilian black girls and LGBTQ+ members with a structured support system outside of school, with one of the main goals being to ultimately keep them in school. In this way, the program exists to uplift and further these communities. In addition to serving as a support system, Bahia Street also provided sex education and regular meals to the people who attend the program, which meets from Monday through Thursday. The Founding Director, Rita Conceição, explained how Bahia Street tackled the task of helping to convince individuals that they were beautiful. Conceição explained that, by providing these people with a supplementary educational and support system, they would be able to begin to see their inherent value. (Conceição 2017) Bahia Street has been successful in providing many of their participants with the support that they need in order to graduate from high school, and eventually, college. Conceição proudly mentioned that many Bahia Street alumni return to lead activities with the younger members. (Conceição 2017)
In addition to legal efforts, there are also attempts to battle complacency within the Brazilian government through the internet. (Lopes 2017) The country’s LGBTQ+ Alliance has launched a website called “Whom has homophobia killed today?”, in which there is a statistical survey of fatal victims of homophobic and transphobic crimes. (Lopes 2017) For ten years it has kept daily track of any targeted members of hate crimes in Brazil and maintains in-depth statistics. The website also has additional resources for the community, such as readings, memorials dedicated to the victims, films, and special events. This website is an example of how the general public is making efforts to fight against the difficulties the LGBTQ+ community faces. This website was started by Eduardo Michels, a lawyer and activist known to advocate in favor of LGBTQ+ human rights, with the help of militant members, group administrators and NGO’s. He has created an influential platform that holds Brazil accountable for the maltreatment of their citizens.
Despite dominant society restricts the rights and education of these people, there are several groups present for community building and groups that practice resistance against these realities. There are safe spaces and citizens making an effort to combat the immense oppression faced by queer identifying individuals. Condemned violence against the queer community in Brazil will continue to be severely addressed by organizations and groups that challenge the authorities. There will always be a demand for the law; the law that rightfully defends the virtuous lives of the marginalized Brazilian LGBTQ+ community.
