All tagged Brazil

Throughout his lifetime in Brazil, Clodovil Hernandes wore several hats. From an early age, he became a widely recognizable public figure in his country, first as a fashion stylist and designer, then as a television personality, and finally as a politician. At each of these various stages of life and career, however, he maintained his brazenly flamboyant persona and unapologetic attitude, becoming both a trailblazing visibly queer icon and a contentious figure with numerous enemies. In the years since his sudden passing, Clodovil’s legacy has often been the subject of much debate, with some hailing him as a pioneer and others criticizing him for his lack of solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community. Though many of his actions and remarks over the years were indeed problematic and perhaps worthy of his cancellation, Clodovil Hernandes nevertheless left an indelible mark on Brazilian culture and society, and his life continues to be a source of both fascination and controversy.

2023 has been an incredibly difficult year, but as we've written before, there are bright spots that are worth recognizing. As we push for safety, recognition, and support for our community in 2024, we can use this year's victories to guide us. We'd love to hear your highlights for the year too!

Madame Satã: The Ultimate Queer Archetype

From the smoldering lands of the Northeastern coast of Brazil to the glamorous city of Rio de Janeiro, there’s no more appropriate itinerary for João Francisco dos Santos, better known by his drag persona Madame Satã, or Madam Satan. His fiery and controversial personality not only served as a muse but as a living and walking affirmation against oppression and those who want, without rest, to destroy beautiful things.

To talk about an artist is all too often to talk about their work. An artist’s creations can say much more about the person creating than was ever intended and can give us insight into their minds that we would never have had access to otherwise. It becomes difficult when there is a language barrier between the artist and oneself. There are translations of course, but so many translations are robotic at best, literally so if google translate is the only option. Instead, we can look to the impact of their work, and the effect their art had on their community. This is what we will be doing as we look at Cássia Eller, a Brazilian rock and MPB musician.

Brazilian Dictatorship and the Queer Movement

Queer culture in Brazil is as big and diverse as the country itself. The Pride Parade of São Paulo was considered the biggest in the world by the Guinness Book of World Records in 2006 and received 1 million reais from the São Paulo city hall in 2010. And after many years of struggle, it’s currently legal for same sex couple to marry and adopt children. The public health system can now cover gender confirmation surgery - even if under less than ideal circumstances. But as important as those victories are, there’s still a history of violence in this country that makes many victims to this day. In 2016, Brazil was the country with the highest number of homicides against transgender women in the world, being transgender is still considered a psychiatric issue. Making it necessary for transgender people to have a medical professional’s approval to access hormonal therapy and gender confirmation surgery legally. The discrimination against queer people has deep roots in Brazil and even during times of adversity the Brazilian LGBT community has kept fighting for their rights.

Anderson Bigode Herzer

Anderson Bigode Herzer was a transgender poet from Brazil who never reached the level of fame he deserved. Herzer was a young poet who was deeply traumatized throughout his youth and died far too young. Though he did not have a long life, he did have an eventful one.