Brazil - A Taste of Home

One interesting fact we learned so far is that Sao Paulo has the largest Japanese population outside of Japan, which you definitely notice just walking about the city or taking the subway.  It's a little strange hearing a Japanese guy speaking Portuguese, but I guess not nearly as strange as hearing an Asian person speaking Polish.  Anyway, up until now, Buenos Aires was the most "international" city we've been to in South America, but even there, the vast majority of people were clearly Argentinean; you just had a little sprinkling of something different every now and then... enough so that people didn't stare at me like I was from another planet because I'm Black, but not so much that I ever blended in.  Brazil, as I mentioned in my post about Porto Alegre, is different.  Blacks, or those with some African ancestry, make up a significant portion of the population, perhaps similar to the Black population in the States or perhaps more, I really don't know.  I'm sure it depends on the region.  Either way, they have Black people here in Brazil while they don't anywhere else we've been in South America.  And obviously, the Blacks in Brazil are mostly descendants of slaves as they are in the States, the Caribbean, or anywhere else in the New World. 

 

Unfortunately, it seems Brazil is very similar to the States when it comes to racism and discrimination and the separation between different races is quite apparent even to the casual observer.  People of a certain skin color hang with people of the same skin color.  You see an inordinate number of Blacks or darker skinned people who are obviously poor.  I've rarely seen a dark-skinned and a light-skinned Brazilian together, especially in groups.  But most disappointing of all is the gay community here in Brazil, which sadly, feels just like the racist gay community back in San Diego. 

 

I eventually stopped bitching so much about racism in the gay community back home, for various reasons, not the least of which was other people's, including friends, refusal to confront reality and instead try to make me feel like I was wrong to not accept other people's racism as personal preference.  But since this is the first place I've experienced a similar phenomenon outside of the States, I feel compelled to write about it.  To put it bluntly, Blacks and Asians are not "desirable" here in Brazil and it's no more apparent than in the profiles on the same websites we use back home and here in South America for meeting other gay guys for hooking up.  And, as is the case back home, the gay community is no different from their heterosexual counterparts when it comes to such issues, so I'm sure the same level of prejudice exists among straight people here as well.  Nevertheless, I'd like to share a sampling of quotes from some of the profiles here in Brazil to give you a better idea of what I mean, especially for those of you who aren't familiar with such websites back in the States.  Rough translations are in italics. 

Ursos e negros não me atraem, então por favor. Não percam seu tempo!

I'm not attracted to bears and Blacks so please, don't waste your time!

 

Nada contra mas negros, orientais e gordos infelizmente não fazem meu tipo.

Not into Blacks, Asians and fat people, they are not my type.

 

Japas e Negros nao fazem o meu tipo sendo assim nao terao preferencia.

Japanese and Blacks are not my type and thus not my preference.

 

Não me atraem mulatos, negros, orientais e acima de 40 anos.

Not attracted to mulattos, Blacks, Asians and those over 40 years old.

 

Não curto negros, japas e nem afeminados, se vc se encaixa nisso desista ok?

Not into Blacks, Japanese or effeminate, if this is you, give up, ok?

 

Não curto gordos, negros, velhos e japoneses.

Not into fat, Black, old, or Japanese.

After seeing a few comments like these, I stopped wondering why I wasn't getting any messages, not to mention responses to mine, and instead did a search and found over a hundred such profiles, in Sao Paulo alone, with similar statements.  It pissed me off just browsing through them all.  Like San Diego, it's easy enough to deal with one guy with such prejudices; one can't expect everyone to be enlightened, but when dealing with an entire community, culture and society that treats Blacks, or Asians, or any other group as the most unattractive and undesirable beings on earth, it can be a bit frustrating to say the LEAST.  Trust me, I have very high self esteem so it's not like such words and statements make me feel unattractive.  I can blow it off as the bigotry and ignorance that it is; however, just because I understand the type of historical experiences in a society that lead to such widespread bias does not allow me to excuse it.

 

Sure, some of you may be thinking, Ozell, you've been the most popular guy in the room no matter where you went in every other South American country.  To that I respond, does the fact that one country is NOT full of racists balance out the one that IS full of racists?  Is something wrong with wishing racism simply ceased to exist in EVERY country; that people would just get over skin color, which is the most arbitrary and biologically insignificant and meaningless attributes we have as humans?  This isn't just about sex; I obviously don't have a problem getting laid.  This is about the way people view me as a human being.  Besides, as I've learned from plenty of experiences, sexual bias based on race is typically just an extension of racial bias and prejudice in general.  I just cannot understand this continued obsession with race, not in my own country and not here in Brazil.  I'm sick of it and I'm especially sick of the excuses and attempts to explain or justify it.

 

I did manage to find one profile online with a link to a great webpage devoted to the issue of sexual racism within the gay community.  The site discusses the topic better than I've seen it ever discussed before and actually challenges people to change.  Actually, I can't recall it ever really being discussed within the gay community before, at least not officially.  Racism is widely acknowledged by Blacks, Asians and other discriminated groups within the gay community; but like our society at large, the dominant group can easily ignore it pretending, and in some cases really believing, that racism doesn't exist in the gay community simply because they don't experience it.  Obviously, it just doesn't negatively affect them the way is does the minority groups they discriminate against.  The webpage is short and concise and I highly encourage you to read it: www.sexualracismsux.com

 

As a side note, it still amazes me and pisses me off that the gay community was so quick and harsh in their criticism of the Black church for their support of California's Prop 8, using the justification that, of all people, Blacks should know what it's like to be discriminated against and thus, work to fight discrimination in whatever form.  I say, gay people are JUST finding out what it's like to be discriminated against so don't come trying to explain to me or any other Black person what discrimination feels like.  The gay community expects, DEMANDS, support for their causes and issues, then turn the other way when it comes to any other minority issues.  Perhaps if the gay community worked a little harder at building bridges, between different races within the gay community and between other minority groups outside of the gay community, then support and understanding would spread out to other minority groups naturally and automatically simply due to the fact that a lot of minorities are gay.  Seems logical, but I guess I realized a long time ago how illogical, and flat out ignorant, some people really are.

 

Fiat Lux!

Ozell