The overwhelming impression is of the force and strength of the trans community. What follows is an email exchange between British Vogue and Iara and Fabiola, two members of the Brasilândia.co platform and Deversos collective respectively, who appear in the film, and who live in the Brasilândia favela.
What is it like to be a trans person in Brazil?
Frightening, uncertain and frustrating. Being in the country that leads the world rankings for the greatest [number of] trans and transvestite murders is frightening. According to ANTRA (Brazil’s National Association of Transvestites and Transsexuals), Brazil accounted for 124 cases of [transgender] murders in 2019. Eleven trans people are beaten per day in Brazil due to their gender identity. We lack security, affection, opportunity and equity.
It is extremely important to mention that we are part of a nano minority that manages to have the minimum access, care and basic rights of a human being. We are uncertain, because most of us don’t know what can happen to us, we don’t even have security in our own homes… And those who manage to have the minimum [level] of safety and comfort in their home, when going out on the street – uncertainty takes over. We never know how the people we meet on our routes will cope and digest the discomfort our bodies bring them.
Frustration is the third word to describe the feeling of living in Brazil as a trans woman. It is frustrating to see how vulnerable, invisible and marginalised we are. The cis gender and heteronormative parts of society puts us in a cruel, predefined box of what it means to be a transvestigenere body. They continue to maintain this view, that we always resort to [abuse of] drugs, prostitution, crimes and promiscuity, or what they consider to be non-moral and unethical [practices], because we are not allowed access to most parts of society.
What would you like to define directly?
Our non-binary identity must be reassessed… And the main plurality that must be understood by you is about our bodies. One of the biggest misconceptions of cisgenerity is to think that you only become a trans person after hormonal treatments and plastic surgeries. Here in Brazil, due to the fact that surgery is out of the question due to lack of money and risk, there is a part of the trans movement that shows us forms of love and acceptance of our body as it is. A number of trans people seem not to feel [the] need for sexual reassignment surgeries.
What do you hope this film will achieve?
The Brazilian LGBTQIA+ art scene has been a global reference for creation – from musical to audio-visual works, as well as fashion, dance, aesthetics and art in general – and we know that. However, we need access to spaces, institutions, and also tools that allow us to do more and better quality [work]. These tools should be made available by those people who make us objects of study and are impressed by the quality of what they see. We want you to realise and understand how difficult it is to create and practice self-care with minimal structures. We seek the validation that we are professionals, and that we are able to meet the expectation and demand [placed on us] by our jobs and projects.
We also hope that through this film [viewers] will observe the construction and development of our works, projects and experiences, which have been developed collectively. Brasilândia.co appeared in early 2019 with the intention of curating and producing projects with a strong, empowering message. It also intends to structure itself to become a producer, providing paid work for creators. The Deversos Coletivo creatives have also been active in the Brasilândia region since 2017, and want to carry out artistic and cultural initiatives by local artists and collectives, with a view to facilitating and promoting exchange and integration between producers, artists, collectives and the public. In addition, other collectives appear in this film, such as the skateboarders of Loucos no Asfalto, the social mobiliser of Samba do Bowl, circus artists, models and other professionals from the region.
