On June 25, 1995, the 17th Conference of the International Association of Gays and Lesbians (ILGA), in Rio de Janeiro, ended with the March for Citizenship, considered the first LGBTQIA+ Parade in Brazil. The act brought together an audience of less than 3,000 people, already organized by Grupo Arco-Íris and the presence of historical figures from the community, such as the transvestite Jane di Castro and the drag queen Isabelita dos Patins. Another symbol of the LGBTQIA+ Parade in Rio, the 124-meter rainbow flag was already present at the demonstration. This story was recorded in images by photographer Claudia Ferreira, who is participating in the Cidade 60+ Exhibition at the Museu da República until July 16. Witnessing the popular mobilization since the 1980s, Claudia gathers her collection on the page Memória dos Movimentos Sociais, where the LGBTQIA+ movement has a specific space, inaugurated by the 1995 march. “The big news in Rio de Janeiro was that parade. I was very happy, because I saw a position that was starting to be more public, more political on the LGBT issue. They were taking the LGBT issue out of the closet”, says the photographer, who is a lesbian, in an interview with Agência Brasil during LGBTQIA+ Pride Month. Claudia Ferreira returned to Copacabana in the following years, such as 1998, 2004, 2007 and 2011, and registered a demonstration that grew, changed its profile and helped to open space for a more receptive society. At 67 years old, she says that she sees LGBTQIA+ seniors in her social circle with a much freer life than the one they led in their youth and asks LGBTQIA+ young people to see aging as the possibility of experiencing a time of more tolerance. Photographer Claudia Ferreira at the exhibition LGBT+60: Bodies that Resist, at the Museum of the Republic, in the south zone of Rio de Janeiro. Photo: Tomaz Silva/Agência Brasil Agência Brasil: How did you arrive at that first march in 1995? What attracted you to her? Claudia Ferreira: I’ve been photographing feminist movements since the end of the 1980s, attentive to everything that was happening in the city, and that’s how I found out that there would be an Ilga congress, here in Rio, and that march for citizenship. At the time, it did not have that LGBT name. It was very interesting, because there were few people, but I saw, outside, watching, gays and lesbians that I knew and who did not feel encouraged to participate. And that has changed over the years. It is noticeable in my photos. The Marcha da Cidadania became the Gay Parade, then the GLBT Parade, and, from 2008, LGBT. And they grew and became less politicized. ABr: Why do you think these acquaintances did not feel encouraged to participate? Was there an atmosphere of apprehension? An expectation of repression? Claudia Ferreira: I don’t think it was a question of security, no. It was really a question of assuming and coming out of the closet at that moment. Prejudice still exists, but people in 1995 were far more victims of prejudice. A man or a woman was even afraid of being seen by their boss or their family members. They didn’t want to be related to what was going on there, and I think that changed a lot mainly because of the fight. ABr: Have people asked you not to be photographed? Claudia Ferreira: Throughout all the stops, some people have. ABr: And did that change over time? Claudia Ferreira: Completely. I think people today make a point of appearing in photos. In recent times, I don’t remember people asking not to be photographed. But that happened a few times. ABr: As an LGBT person, what did it mean to photograph that first stop? Claudia Ferreira: The big news in Rio de Janeiro was that stop. I was very happy, because I saw a position that was starting to be more public, more political on the LGBT issue. They were taking the LGBT issue out of the closet. ABr: You said you’ve seen less politicized charts in recent years. In what sense? Claudia Ferreira: I’m not talking about people, I’m talking about the concept of parade. The electric trios are stronger on the parades in Rio, each with the sound louder than the other, than the speeches. I think that even in terms of themes and publicity, it became much more like “come and visit Rio and participate in the LGBT Parade”, than a moment for people to discuss. ABr: You already photographed feminist movements. Was the lesbian movement already present in those demonstrations? Claudia Ferreira: Feminist lesbians were not few, but they did not position themselves as lesbian women. There was a big prejudice in the feminist movement in relation to lesbians, it was not a well-resolved thing. Both in relation to lesbians and in relation to black women. Everything evolves. And, years later, there was great tension in relation to trans women, and even today there is a portion of the movement that is against it. But we are evolving and these tensions are more minimized. File photo (06/25/1995) – March for Citizenship, Av. Atlantic, Copacabana. Photo: Claudia Ferreira/ Memory and Social Movements/Arquivo ABr: You photographed a movement that was growing in a society that was opening up. But at a certain point, there was also a political backlash. Was that visible on the streets and on the parades? Claudia Ferreira: Exactly in these last four years I haven’t photographed the parades, but I see that the behavior of the LGBTQIA+ population on the streets has changed, yes. People became more restrained, more afraid of aggression. Especially trans women, because of this religious fundamentalist setback. ABr: And, as an LGBT over 60 years old, what would you highlight as an obstacle and what do you experience as positive? Claudia Ferreira: There is an idea, especially among younger people, that for the LGBT population, aging means loneliness. What I can say from my experience and the people I live with is that it is much easier to be a gay or a lesbian today, aged 60, than it was for those same people 30 years ago. I know people who came out of the closet after 50 because they felt more comfortable, because society became more receptive. What I see is this population over 60 managing to enjoy life more. ABr: Is old age freer than youth? Claudia Ferreira: Absolutely. These people were much more repressed in their youth than they are now. And, regarding loneliness, certainly a gay man who had a homophobic brother, today may have a nephew who likes him and thinks he is the coolest uncle. Families evolved in acceptance. I think that, somehow, the LGBTQIA+ population over 60 is living more freely. ABr: Perhaps, then, young people who look to the future and think about solitude can think about finding an even more open society? Claudia Ferreira: I think so. I, who work with memory and documentation of social movements and life in the city, can say that today. I’m talking about years I’ve lived and looking in the rear view mirror. Young people who are afraid of this need not be afraid, because perhaps 30 years from now, they will have an even freer world. But it is clear that people are increasingly frightened by the setbacks in behavior caused by fundamentalisms, especially religious ones.
Agência Brasil
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