Tag Archives: brazil

SILVIO, PROMOTER/DJ, SÃO PAULO, Brazil

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

Silvio, in his own words: “Being gay means for me being me, means being human. There’s no meaning, it’s just like being straight. A normal thing!

It was really hard for me to be accepted by my parents, this could be considered as a challenge, but I also consider it as a success. After they knew about it and the dog days were over, I could finally be myself without caring about others opinions. The only people whose opinions was relevant was the people I love and respect.

The gay community in São Paulo is really full of people wanting to be famous, rich, or trying to show they are, even if they aren’t. But I can’t say only the bad things. The Gay community here is really free. After bad thing happened, the attack of homophobics ceased. You can find gay people walking hand in hand on malls, some streets and avenues, supermarkets etc. There’s also a big gay nightlife scene that has got the best parties and clubs!

To come out of the closet was REALLY hard. The moment I told my parents, the chaos was established in my house. My father almost died and my mother cried about a week without stopping. They tried to convince me that I should think better about my “decision” and after I told them that there was no decision, my mom became angry and started to be aggressive. Due to all the suffering, we all went to a psychologist and they only opened their minds when the woman said that they should accept this, or they were gonna lose a son. I still was their son, the same guy and nothing changed in me, I was the same son that I was when I was a child! I was born gay!

(If I could talk to myself before I came out) I would say to my self: hey kid, you’re gonna suffer A LOT! But don’t worry, it will only prove that you’re strong enought to get through all of this! And trust me, things will get better! You’re gonna be sooooooo happy after all of this hurting situation is over…”

“All of my life I been wading in
Water so deep now we got to swim
Wonder will it ever end
How long how long till we have a friend

Look at me, I just can’t believe,
what they’ve done to me
We could never get free
I just wanna be, I just wanna dream”
Get Free – Major Lazer

Vitor, Law Student, Brasilia, Brazil

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

Vitor, in his own words: “Ser gay me fez ser uma pessoa melhor, me ajudou a olhar para o outro com mais carinho e tolerância. Levei um tempo para aceitar a minha orientação sexual, mas hoje me sinto bem, pleno e realizado. A parte difícil é lidar com a sociedade e o preconceito. O Brasil é um país bem machista e ainda precisamos convencer uma galera de que não somos diferentes de ninguém e que merecemos o mesmo respeito e direitos das outras pessoas.

Certamente o maior desafio que a vida me deu foi o de alcançar a minha independência financeira. Nem sempre pode-se contar com o apoio das outras pessoas quando se é gay e nesse sentido ser independente foi fundamental para mim.

Já não morava com meus pais quando me assumi, mas a reação foi surpreendente. Tive muito medo, mas sentia que precisava contar. Minha mãe me disse que eu não era o primeiro e não seria o ultimo e que o amor que ela sentia por mim não mudaria jamais. Isso foi muito importante para mim. Hoje não falamos sobre esse assunto, mas não preciso mais mentir ou inventar histórias e isso é muito bom.

Acho a comunidade gay bem dispersa em Brasília. Aqui todos se conhecem pelo menos de vista, mas ainda mantemos uma certa distância uns dos outros. O engajamento é pequeno e não há um movimento LGBT consolidado. Apenas uma vez por ano é que pode-se ver muitos gays reunidos, na parada gay.

Se eu pudesse mandar um recado para mim há 10 anos seria: ouça o seu coração e faça aquilo que é certo para você. Perdi muito tempo tentando me adaptar ao que os outros diziam que era certo e sofri bastante.”

In English:

“Being gay has made me a better person, helped me to look at others with more kindness and tolerance. It took me a while to accept my sexual orientation, but today I feel good, full and fulfilled. The hard part is dealing with society and prejudice. Brazil is a very macho country and we still need to convince a galley that we are no different from anyone else and that we deserve the same respect and rights of others.

Certainly the biggest challenge that life gave me was to achieve my financial independence. One can not always count on the support of others when one is gay and in that sense being independent was key for me.

(With regards to coming out) I no longer lived with my parents when I told them, but the reaction was surprising. I was too afraid, but felt the need to tell. My mother told me I was not the first and would not be the last and that the loved me and her feelings for me would not change ever. This was very important to me. Today we do not talk about this, but I don’t need to lie or make up stories and that’s very good.

I think the gay community well dispersed in Brasilia. Here everyone knows at least each other by sight, but still maintain a certain distance from one another. The engagement is small and there is a consolidated LGBT movement. Only once a year can you can see many assembled gays in a gay parade.

If I could send a message to myself 10 years ago it would be: listen to your heart and do what is right for you. I lost a lot of time trying to fit in to what others said it was right and suffered enough.”