LGBTQ Brazilians take to the streets after use of 'Gay Cure' is authorised
- Text by Biju Belinky
- Photography by Theo McIness
This Friday afternoon hundreds of members of the LGBTQ community and their allies will be taking the streets of Brazil’s biggest cities to protest a judge’s decision to make legal the usage of the “Gay Cure”.
The usage of “sexual reversion therapy”, which seeks to “turn” LGBTQ individuals straight, has been forbidden in the country since 1999. This new ruling, authorised on 15 of September by judge Waldemar Cláudio de Carvalho, was issued after three “therapists” who vehemently believe in the use of the “cure” and consider homosexuality to be a disease put in a request for the ban to be lifted.
This step backwards accompanies a strong wave of homophobia and hyper-conservative views that are sweeping through Brazil right now. The decision came right after the forced closure of an exhibition about queer identities in art, and was strongly supported by members of the government who hold deeply evangelical views.
Today, the Federal Council of Psychology has requested a reconsideration of the judge’s decision. They are supported by the Brazilian Order of Lawyers, and affirm that the practice of gay cure therapy “represents a violation of human rights and has no scientific basis”.
As well as that, multiple independent LGBTQ rights organisations have organised events, planned for this afternoon. The description of one of the events, based in São Paulo, reads: “We of the LGBTQ movement will occupy the streets with pride to revoke this bizarre decision looking to set back 27 years of achievements by LGBTQ activists.”
Enjoyed this article? Like Huck on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.
You might like
A stark, confronting window into the global cocaine trade
Sangre Blanca — Mads Nissen’s new book is a close-up look at various stages of the drug’s journey, from production to consumption, and the violence that follows wherever it goes.
Written by: Isaac Muk
Venice Biennale will not award artists from Israel & Russia due to war crime accusations
Art Not Genocide — Both countries will still be allowed to exhibit work at their respective pavilions, but be excluded from judging considerations, as they have leaders facing arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court.
Written by: Noah Petersons
Free-spirited, otherworldly portraits of Mexico City’s queer youth
Birds — Pieter Henket’s new collaborative photobook creates a stage for CDMX’s LGBTQ+ community to express themselves without limitations, styling themselves with wild outfits that subvert gender and tradition.
Written by: Isaac Muk
The suave style and subtle codes of gay San Francisco in the ’70s
Seminal Works — Hal Fischer’s new photobook explores the photographer’s archive, in which he documented the street fashion and culture of the city post-Gay Liberation, and pre-AIDS pandemic.
Written by: Miss Rosen
The stripped, DIY experimentalism of SHOOT zine
Zine Scene — Conceived by photographer Paul Mpagi Sepuya in the ’00s, the publication’s photos injected vulnerability into gay portraiture, and provided a window into the characters of the Brooklyn arts scene. A new photobook collates work made across its seven issues.
Written by: Miss Rosen
Confronting America’s history of violence against student protest
Through A Mirror, Darkly — In May 1970, two separate massacres at American college campuses saw deaths at the hands of the state. Naeem Mohaiemen’s new three-channel film memorialises the brutality.
Written by: Miss Rosen
