World
The gay man who shook Brazilian sports and society
Gilberto Nogueira shares his dream of inclusion
An unexpected trailblazer shook Brazilian society in 2021 and caused significant advancements of LGBTQ rights in historically conservative groups.
Gilberto Nogueira, a reality show superstar, brought to prime-time television what most would think of as contradictions: A sexually liberal person with strong religious convictions; a high-level academic who speaks the language of the people; and, most strikingly, an effeminate and proudly gay man who is also a soccer fan.
Nogueira, or “Gil do Vigor,” which roughly means “Striving Gil” in Portuguese, became a TV phenomenon by almost winning “Big Brother Brazil”, one of the most popular shows in Brazilian television. His unapologetic character struck an enormous fan base that includes some of the most famous Brazilian soccer players and sports journalists. In a matter of weeks, Nogueira managed to build an unexpected alliance of LGBTQ people and sports fans to support him. This would produce lasting change, although it would not come without controversy.
“Dialogue is a great and necessary bridge to long-term changes, which leads us to reflection, reassessment of attitudes, conscious self-assessment, practical actions and much more,” Nogueira told the Washington Blade from California, where he is now pursuing his PhD in economics at the University of California-Davis.
The roots of the fight for diversity in Brazilian soccer can be traced to the 1970s, when a group called “Torcida Coligay” decided to defy homophobes and the then-ruling military dictatorship by bringing together queer fans of the soccer club Grêmio. More recently, tangible outcomes have been achieved.
Since Brazil’s Supreme Court criminalized LGBTQ-phobic violence in 2019, fines and legal sanctions have been applied by sports authorities onto clubs whose supporters chanted homophobic slurs. Drawing from the heritage of Torcida Coligay, the collective “Canarinhos LGBT” has been pressuring restlessly for the enforcement of these measures.
However, as an important part of the Brazilian cultural identity, sports have also entered the cultural war that has dominated Brazil’s public life. Nogueira himself has been in the middle of a battle between two visions of what soccer should be. A fan of the club Sport Recife, Gil was invited by the club for a visit to the team’s stadium. The day after, an audio leak revealed homophobic slurs by one of the club’s advisors, sparking outrage among Nogueira’s supporters and media figures and reaching national headlines. Before the episode, it would be unimaginable to have soccer players showing support for LGBTQ Rights.
Since then, the club’s executive direction, younger and more diverse, and its governing council, older and male-dominated, started a civil war around the expulsion of the advisors. Possibly avoiding further backlash, Nogueira has not been outspoken about this topic in Brazilian media. Asked to comment on this article, he broke his silence.
“Conservatism, patriarchy and homophobia are issues that, in the sports universe, are potentialized because it is an environment where these key themes were rarely brought into the agenda, which is completely inconsistent, as sports are synonymous with inclusion. But the question is: Inclusion for whom?” Nogueira said.
“I see that we are lagging behind and there is little willingness to advance in these debates, and even less will to introduce practices that can foster the debate on gender identities, gender expression, sexual orientation, among others. I also realize that we lack dialogue, and we know that talking about the plurality of life is respecting it, inserting it, sustaining it in such an oppressive environment.” he concluded.
The battle for inclusion in Brazilian sports occurs in the midst of a highly hostile political debate.
About a month ago, Mauricio Souza, a famous volleyball player, was fired from his club after anti-LGBTQ comments on social media. Immediately, he became a symbol of Brazil’s far right, multiplying his followers and gaining support from President Jair Bolsonaro. Souza is now expected to run for the Congress in Bolsonaro’s party.
In this context, Nogueira ‘s contribution for diversity in sports becomes even more remarkable. His persona — evangelical, gay, academic, raised in poverty — defies the typical divide of the deeply polarized Brazilian society. Asked what he would say to other LGBTQ persons living in highly conservative environments such as the church and the soccer stadium, Nogueira states the answer is within.
“There are always answers within ourselves,” he said. “While everyone has the right to speak when, how and if they want to about their orientation or gender identity, genuinely belonging to ourselves is something we will question ourselves throughout our lives”.
Another remarkable characteristic of Nogueira is his firm belief in his dreams. Even having won national recognition, 15 million followers on Instagram and millions of dollars in advertisement, he chose to continue his life-long plan to pursue a PhD at UC Davis. This does not drive him away from his fight for inclusion.
“I intend to conduct relevant research that has a social impact directly related to minorities — in this case, the LGBTQIA+ community and racial issues — so that we can discuss and show that it is important to have diversity in all sectors of the country, and that this will not only bring more equality, but it will also bring development,” he said.
From California, Nogueira has his own segment in a popular TV show, explaining complex economic concepts to common people. This highlights his vision for the future of Brazil.
“I intend to use my theoretical knowledge as an economist … to show that we need to consolidate ourselves as a country that is diverse, respectful, not homophobic, not racist, because otherwise, we pay the price as human beings, but also as a country, as a whole,” he said. Nogueira’s activism and brilliance has shown that Brazilian sports culture is on an inclusive path, but there is still a long way to go. There are very few high-profile athletes who are openly LGBTQ, and in men’s soccer, Brazil’s most popular sport, there are none.
However, Nogueira’s impact, as Michael Sam and Megan Rapinoe in the U.S., is proof that society is changing and this includes formerly homophobic milieus, as the sports arenas.
Egerton Neto is the international coordinator at Aliança Nacional LGBTI+, a Brazilian LGBTQ rights group, and a master candidate at the London School of Economics. Caio Leite is a political scientist.
Belarus
Belarusian lawmakers approve bill to crackdown on LGBTQ rights
Country’s president known as ‘Europe’s last dictator’
Lawmakers in Belarus on Thursday approved a bill that would allow the government to crack down on LGBTQ advocacy.
The Associated Press notes the bill would punish anyone found guilty of “propaganda of homosexual relations, gender change, refusal to have children, and pedophilia” with fines, community labor, and 15 days in jail.
The House of Representatives, the lower house of the Belarusian National Assembly, last month approved the bill. The Council of the Republic, which is the parliament’s upper chamber, passed it on Thursday.
President Alexander Lukashenko is expected to sign it.
Belarus borders Poland, Ukraine, Russia, Latvia, and Lithuania. Lukashenko — known as “Europe’s last dictator” is a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Kazakhstan is among the countries that have enacted Russian-style anti-LGBTQ propaganda laws in recent years.
Vika Biran, a Belarusian LGBTQ activist, is among those arrested during anti-Lukashenko protests that took place in 2020 after he declared victory in the country’s presidential election.
Kenya
Kenyan advocacy groups launch LGBTQ voter mobilization campaign
As Kenya prepares for next year’s August general election, local queer rights groups have joined Gen Zers in also mobilizing their members to register as voters.
The groups’ drive began ahead of the electoral commission’s official launch of a one-month nationwide mass voter registration on March 30, targeting 6.5 million new voters to bring the total to more than 28 million.
The groups — led by the Initiative for Equality and Non-Discrimination (INEND) and Galck+ — note that politics is not optional, but rather it is “our responsibility” to use the ballot to put an end to bad leadership and discriminatory laws against them.
“Voting is one of the most powerful ways we exercise our autonomy and remind the State that our human rights are not ‘Western imports’; our struggles for housing, employment, safety, and dignity are fundamentally Kenyan issues,” INEND states.
It reminds queer individuals that the nation entrusts them with an identity card at age 18 as a recognition of their ability to make decisions, follow laws, and take responsibility for the country’s future.
INEND also notes that despite this honor, LGBTQ people get kicked out of their homes due to homophobia, are discriminated against at work, and face violence in public places due to the punitive laws that the same State legislates.
“As queer Kenyans, our vote matters,” INEND states. “Our voice belongs in the democratic and governance conversations, and true democracy includes everyone.”
Some voter mobilization initiatives the queer lobby groups have been using include ‘Queering the Ballot’ Podcasts on civic participation, dubbed ‘Your Vote is Your Future’. The topics explored include how laws shape their lives, the relationship between lived experiences of common citizens, discrimination fatigue, distrust in government systems, and voter apathy.
The groups through the mobilization drive hope to create a queer voting bloc to actively participate in restructuring and reconstructing the existing governance system they argue has been a problem for them. They maintain the queer community navigates a system that was not built for them from its questioning of their right to exist, yet the Kenyan Constitution clearly states that no citizen should be discriminated against based on sexual orientation or gender identity.
The Court of Appeal next month will hear a case challenging the constitutionality of provisions in Kenya’s Penal Code that criminalize consensual same-sex relationships among adults. The appeals court postponed the case after adjourning on Feb. 4, its first substantive hearing since the High Court judgement in 2019.
“Change requires more than pointing fingers. It requires reflection, action, and showing up, especially at the ballot box as LGBTQ Kenyan citizens and declaring that this is our country, our business, and we can no longer watch from the sidelines,” INEND states.
The group notes that they want a governance system that embraces queer people as they go about their daily lives without any form of homophobic discrimination, harassment, or arrests. Queer people are therefore urged to pick the right leaders who listen to them in Kenya’s six elective positions, from the president down to the local government representatives, as their decisions while in power affect them.
“It is very irresponsible for any human being, even around the world, to assume that they don’t have political responsibility. It is easy and sounds fancy to say ‘I don’t like politics,’ but it does not make one good as it makes one abandon their political responsibility as a citizen,” INEND states.
The groups are also concerned with the existing homophobia among Kenyans, especially whenever they join them in street protests against the government’s punitive measures or advocating for change. However, they maintain that the LGBTQ community won’t be left behind despite being marginalized in society, yet they are the most affected group when the government raids people’s pockets for taxes.
“Now we are moving from the margins to the centre of this political conversation early enough to ensure that our community sees the sense because if we live in a country that doesn’t work, we will be the most affected,” INEND states.
INEND, with the National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission and Galck+, last November launched the second Queering the Ballot Campaign and the 2024 Situation Report on queer participation in Kenya’s democracy.
The report surveyed 14 of the country’s 47 local governments, whose key findings affirm that queer Kenyans are not outsiders to democracy but its heartbeat.
“The title ‘Our Vote, Our Future: LGBTQ+ Inclusion in Democratic and Governance Processes’ in Kenya is an ode to the spirit of the queer movement in Kenya; unshaken in the face of adversity, determined in its pursuit of justice, and unrelenting in demand to be seen, heard and counted in democratic and political processes,” reads the report forwarded by former Chief Justice Willy Mutunga.
The report calls on Parliament, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission, the County Assemblies, and every Kenyan to make inclusion not symbolic but systemic.
Vice President JD Vance and his wife, second lady Usha Vance, will visit Hungary next week.
An announcement the White House released on Thursday said the Vances will be in Budapest, the Hungarian capital, from April 7-8.
JD Vance “will hold bilateral meetings with” Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. The announcement further indicates the vice president “will also deliver remarks on the rich partnership between the United States and Hungary.”
The Vances will travel to Hungary less than a week before the country’s parliamentary elections take place on April 12.
Orbán, who has been in office since 2010, and his Fidesz-KDNP coalition government have faced widespread criticism over its anti-LGBTQ crackdown.
The Associated Press notes polls indicate Orbán is trailing Péter Magyar and his center-right Tisza party.
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