'Boys From Brazil' Documentary

This 1993 documentary introduces us to the world of Brazilian travestis Samira, Luciana and their friend Gaspar.   It discusses their lives in Brazil, their first failed attempt to enter Italy and follows Gaspar as he later does so alone and hooks up with another another group of Brazilian travestis living in Rome named Claudia, Sabrina and Marcela. 

There's also a segment of it in which we see Luciana in the hospital getting silicone removed from one of her hips.   Yep, injecting silicone is a problemn for the Brazilian girls too just like it is here in the States..

Some of the video is NSFW, so you'lll probably need to wait until you get home to watch it.. 

But once again it drive home the point of trans people being part of the diverse mosaic of human life and how in many case the issues of transpeople in different parts of the world sometimes has a common thread running through them. 




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Part 2



Part 3



Part4


Part 5

Brazil's Transwomen Are Catching Hell

Because of models Roberta Close, Felipa Torres, Lea T. and Carol Marra, actress Maria Clara Spinelli, Carnival and a healthcare system that provides trans medical treatment including free SRS operations, Brazil has the international reputation of being a trans friendly place.

But Brazil is also a Roman Catholic nation, and it appears the anti-trans hate speech and preaching from the Vatican and evangelicals has filtered down to the flock and fueled anti-trans prejudice that has deadly consequences for the Brazilian trans community.  

Those of us in the trans community who attend TDOR ceremonies have painfully noted the spike in gruesome anti-trans murders happening in Brazil over the last few years. 

When we start gathering around the world for the 2013 edition of our TDOR memorial ceremonies in November, many of the names we will be reading and lighting candles for will once again predominately be those of our Brazilian trans sisters.

Portuguese based blogger Eduarda Santos of Transfofa em Blog has been keeping track of the sickening carnage happening to our sisters in Brazil and the rest of the world.

The graphic photos in the Brazilian media that accompany many of these murders of our trans sisters are mind boggling in terms of the level of viciousness that is visited upon our sisters unfortunate enough to be targeted in an anti-trans hate murder.   

But it was one I saw on her Facebook page yesterday afternoon that made me cry and triggered this post.   It's past time that the international trans community and we transpeople who are children of the African Diaspora raise our voices in collective outrage at the murderous carnage being aimed at our trans sisters in that nation.

The photo that made me cry (TRIGGER WARNING) was one of a 13 year old trans kid who was murdered by hanging last month.  

Thirteen.  It's ridiculous.  This trans feminine child hadn't even begun to live her life before it was cruelly snuffed out by someone who thought they had the right to end it because they didn't like the fact they were trans. 

Here's hoping the waste (or wastes) of DNA who did it are brought to justice either by the Brazilian legal system or the karmic wheel, whichever comes first. 

As to what we can do to help stem the bloody tide of these anti-trans murders in Brazil, we'll have to talk to our trans brothers and sisters and their allies doing the work in that nation and respectfully ask them what they want and need their trans cousins around the world to do. 

But it's crystal clear doing nothing is not one of those options because our Brazilian trans sisters are catching hell, and it needs to stop.

TransGriot Note: last photo is of Cecilia Marahouse, who was fatally shot multiple times in Fortaleza, Brazil on January 11.
   

When Brazilian Trans Women Are Being Murdered, That IS An Insulting Comment

"We are angry with ourselves for not being happier, not being loved properly and not having the ideal body shape – that of a Brazilian transsexual."    Suzanne Moore


That was the line that started the whole international kerfluffle.   While Moore's piece was originally about sexism and the things that make pwomen angry, what made transwomen angry was the 'Brazilian transsexuals' line.  

Then her transphobic partners in crime Bindel and Burchill in their zeal to defend her poured more gasoline on the raging fire with their transphobic insults, with Burchill's bordering in hate speech territory.

There are far too many cis people saying that the trans community shouldn't have been offended by Moore's line.  Well, first of all it is not up to you cis people to decide for a marginalized group like trans people what is and isn't offensive to them.

Yes, Brazilian transsexuals going back to Roberta Close are some of the most beautiful women on the planet.  Lea T, Carol Marra and Felipa Tavares are continuing to walk in Roberta's pumps and rock fashion runways around the planet along with other trans models..  

But the reason that comment was considered insulting by many of us in the international trans community was for a dynamic we painfully know is not getting much mainstream news coverage.

When the memorial names lists were read during the 2012 TDOR events around the world, 100 of the names that were read of our transsisters who lost their lives due to anti-trans violence were from Brazil.   Judging by the early 2013 news blurbs I read concerning trans murders tracked by various trans bloggers around the world, seems like the trans haters down in Brazil are trying to exceed last year's total.

Cecilia Marahouse, the Brazilian trans woman I have pictured in this post was shot multiple times in Fortaleza, Brazil back on January 11 while these British feminists were ranting and disrespecting trans people justifiably upset about their stank comments.

It is over 40 years of anti-trans hate screeds that have created and stoked the climate of transphobic hate aimed at transwomen.   That hate greases the skids for these near genocidal level of murders.aimed at our trans sisters, and you cisprivileged whyte womyn don't care 

Thank God trans people around the world and our allies do.

So yes, when you make an out of context reference to Brazilian transwomen, it IS insulting.   And don't get an attitude or start crying white women's tears when transpeople around the world call you out on it.

Trans History-Roberta Close

Contrary to this article implying that trans models like Lea T, Felipa Torres and Carol Marra are some 21st century twist to the Brazilian modeling scene, that isn't the case.  There was a trans woman strutting the catwalks in Brazil and elsewhere in the world back in the 80's.

This latest group of twentysomething Brazilian models need to bow down and recognize their trans sister who paved the way for them to be able to strut those catwalks in Rio, New York, Milan and Paris.

The pioneering transwoman in question is Roberta Gambine Moreira, who was born on this date in 1964 in Rio de Janiero.  

Known professionally as Roberta Close, she started surreptitiously taking hormones in her teens and began her modeling and film career at age 17.

The 5'10 1/2" beauty won the Miss Gay Brazil pageant at age 20, appeared in a popular Brazilian soap opera and print ads. 

She was the first trans woman to appear on the cover of Brazilian Playboy (while preoperative), and hosted a late night talk show in her homeland.  Even though she was comfortable with her pre-op status during that time period, she eventually had SRS in Britain in 1989, appeared in a post-operative photo spread in the  Brazilian mens magazine Sexy and was voted the 'Most Beautiful Woman In Brazil'.

In 1993 she married her Swiss manager, Roland Granacher, in Europe since in Roman Catholic Brazil she wasn't able to do so.



She also fought a lengthy legal battle in the Brazilian court system to challenge the laws that refused to recognize her femininity in her documentation.  She lost an initial round in 1997 and another in 2003, but eventually won her case to have her birth documentation changed.

On March 4, 2005, Roberta Close acquired legal status as a female in Brazil after Judge Leise Rodrigues de Lima Espiritu Santo of the 9th Family Court of Rio de Janeiro legally recognized her as a woman.

Roberta Close is the reason that the current crop of Brazilian trans models have their opportunities to make it in the fashion world today, and hope these 21st century ladies appreciate the barriers Roberta broke down for them.


   

Miss Transsexual Brazil 2012 Pageant

Brazil has been a good news, bad news place for our transsisters living there.   While this emerging South American economic power nation has free SRS coverage in their national health plan, is the home of trans supermodel Lea T and has had transwomen openly walking the runways at Rio's fashion week since Roberta Close first did so in the 1980's, at the same time it has seen a horrific spike in anti-trans violence and murders aimed at our Brazilian trans sisters.

Back on October 30 the first ever Miss Transsexual Brazil 2012 pageant happened in Rio de Janeiro, and here's some video from AFP documenting what happened during that first ever pageant  

Rio Fashion Week 2011 Documentary

Interesting documentary that focused on Rio's 2011 edition of International Fashion Week.   It's one of the few that has no problem using trans models, and that tradition goes back to Roberta Close in the 1980's  

This one mentioned trans model Carol Marra, who parlayed this Fashion Week 2011 appearance into a Brazilian TV reporting job..

 

2012 Olympic Watch-See You In Rio

After 17 days of exhilarating competition filled with highs, lows, drama, controversy and upsets, the 2012 Summer Olympics in London came to a close last night as the torch was extinguished and the Antwerp Olympic flag was passed on to the mayor of Rio de Janeiro.

There were probably some eye rolls occurring all over Chicago when that part of the closing ceremony happened. 

Team USA won 104 total medals, 46 of them gold in what I'm calling the 'Title IX Olympics'.   27 of the 46 golds earned by the United States were courtesy of female athletes on a 2012 USA Olympic team that had for the first time more female than male athletes.   Our female team athletes did quite well in winning a fifth consecutive gold in basketball, the first ever in water polo, and repeating in soccer (stop hatin' Renee).

There was an upset in the volleyball final as our number one ranked women had to settle for silver and the field hockey team didn't get out of pool play.  

This was also the first Olympic Games ever in which all the competing nations entered had at least one female athlete as part of their delegations.

We Olympic junkies will now have to wait until August 5, 2016 for the opening ceremonies of the 31st Olympiad of the modern era.   And thank God for American viewers Rio is only one hour ahead of the eastern time zone and NBC won't have any excuse to not broadcast more events live.

We hope.

Goodbye, London.  You did a wonderful job hosting the Games for the third time.  The torch has been passed to you now Rio.  Looking forward to seeing how y'all handle it in 2016  

2011 FIFA Women's World Cup Team USA Watch- Wow...Just Wow

Told y'all this team has a penchant for handling their World Cup business the hard way.   Abby Wambach even said as much in the aftermath of the group play loss to Sweden.

But wow.  This was a game for the ages.  It's too bad today's match between the USA and Brazil was a quarterfinal one and not a semifinal or the final.

This one had so much drama, intrigue, twists and turns packed in it that I don't think even a Hollywood scriptwriter could have come up with a better plot..

Team USA has never finished lower than third place in FIFA Women's World Cup play but was coming off their first loss ever in group play to Sweden while Brazil went unbeaten in theirs.   They've also never lost a game while wearing their black uniforms and wanted to get off to a fast start in this quarterfinal match in Dresden.  

An own goal from Brazil's Daiane a mere two minutes into the match got the fast start party started and allowed Team USA to take a 1-0 lead into the half.  

But Brazil has a player no one else on the planet has in Marta, the five time reigning FIFA Women's Player of the Year.  She showed why she's earned that award for five straight years in the second half.

In the 68th minute Marta splits a double team by flicking the ball to herself over both defenders heads and broke toward the US goal.   She was challenged by Rachel Buehler but as both player fell in the penalty area was ruled to have been pulled down from behind.

That unfortunately earned Buehler a red card, a seat in the locker room for the rest of the match and Brazil a penalty shot to attempt to tie the game.

Christiane takes the initial penalty kick that Hope Solo correctly guesses the direction of and stops cold..   Referee Jacqui Melksham rules Solo left her line too soon and orders another one.  The Dresden stadium crown and the USA squad is incensed, Hope Solo draws a yellow card for her vociferous protest otherwise and this time the Brazilians entrust Marta with the penalty shot she successfully makes to tie the score.

In addition to the score now being 1-1, Team USA must now play with 10 women the rest of the way.   It's hard enough playing Brazil with 11 players, but playing them shorthanded for many squads is FIFA Football Mission Impossible.

But Team USA isn't just any squad.  They're the FIFA world number one ranked team and back to back 2004 and 2008 Olympic champs and showed why they occupy the top spot of the women's FIFA rankings if anyone had any doubts about that.

They buckled down defensively and somehow managed to keep the powerful FIFA number three ranked Brazilians off the board for the next 22 minutes and force 30 minutes of overtime while nearly getting a golden goal in regulation time themselves.       

But early in the first overtime period thanks to another blown call (the refs miss a Brazilian player being offside) and get another highlight reel goal from Marta in the 92nd minute that she deftly flicks off the right post and into the back of the net to put them ahead 2-1.   Despite determined attacks at the Brazilian goal Team USA looks all but dead and headed back home until the header from Abby Wambach in the 122nd minute during the second 15 minute overtime period ties the score and forces a penalty kick shootout.

We got a little karmic payback when the first PK attempt by Shannon Boxx was blocked by Andreia but she was ruled to have left her line early.   Boxx buried the rekick to get us started to a 5-3 penalty kick shootout win that was clinched when Solo blocked Daiane's PK attempt and Wambach and Krieger buried theirs to send the USA to the semifinals and avenge the 2007 semifinal loss to Brazil as well..   

Oh yeah, did I mention that all of this happens on the 12th anniversary of the 1999 Women's World Cup final in the Rose Bowl that the USA women won on penalty kicks against China?

Breathe people.  Time to get ready for Wednesday's semifinal against France in Monchengladbach.  Winner gets a trip to Frankfurt to play in the title match versus the Japan-Sweden winner on Sunday.  Losers plays in the third place game in Sinsheim on Saturday.

This 2011 team has said repeatedly they wanted to forge their own legacy separate from the 1999 World championship squad.   They may have taken a giant step toward doing that today.

  .

Campaign Against Trans Prejudice In Brazil

Stumbled across an interesting video about a Brazilian anti-trans prejudice campaign while searching for documentary videos the other night.    

 

Trans Murder Rocks Brazil

Brazil is the largest country on the South American continent.  It is not only one that is fast becoming an emerging economic powerhouse, they hope the upcoming 2014 World Cup soccer tournament and the 2016 Olympics will demonstrate that fact to the world.

Brazil is also one of the largest nations to have a female president in Dilma Roussef.

Brazil has another distinction it's not proud of.  It is a very dangerous place to live if you're a transwoman.


Brazil is Roman Catholic, and thanks to the hate speech against transpeople implanted into the Vatican by its former advisor Paul McHugh and disseminated from Pope Benedict XVI, hate crimes and violence against transpeople in Catholic countries such as Brazil has spiked up.

According to local TBLG rights groups in the country, there were over 250 murders in Brazil last year involving TBLG people.   One of the names we'll probably be reciting later this year at the Transgender Day of Remembrance is Priscila Brandao. 

Priscila's mother wanted her trans child to have a better life than pursuing sex work in the mean streets of Belo Horizonte, so a year ago she asked her brother in law to give her a job.     

Just eight months earlier before her life was cut short the 22 year old transwoman was interviewed with her mother expressing a bold hope for the future and a determination that she would succeed at her job as a mattress store manager in Belo Horizonte.

Now she's dead, shot seven times by three men as the crime was caught on surveillance tape.   One of the men has been arrested..

(trigger alert for violence)



A hate crimes law has been proposed in Brazil, and activists in the country are pushing President Rousseff to support its passage.

It won't bring Priscila back, but it's a step in reminding Brazilians that all its citizens are valuable, including its trans ones.