On Sunday, thousands of participants flocked to Copacabana beach for Rio de Janeiro’s vibrant pride parade. The celebration was marked by an array of colorful outfits and glitter that adorned many of the attendees, primarily young people who danced and sang to loud music playing from speakers.
A significant theme of this year’s parade was sustainability, as banners proclaimed, “Environmental justice will only be possible with racial and social justice, gender equality, and sexual diversity.” This call for unity resonated with the crowd amidst Brazil’s ongoing environmental crises, including record droughts in the Amazon rainforest, floods in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul, and severe wildfires across the nation.
While the atmosphere was celebratory, underlying tensions remained. Many participants voiced their concerns about the threats facing the LGBTQ+ community in Brazil. “As the sister of a trans woman, I’m scared to death,” expressed Helen Karajá, a 32-year-old bisexual artist.
Indeed, 2023 has seen at least 230 violent deaths of LGBTQ+ individuals in Brazil, as reported by the Observatory of LGBTI+ deaths and violence in Brazil. Alarmingly, data from Transgender Europe, an international network tracking such instances, indicates that Brazil recorded the highest number of trans murders last year, with 100 lives lost.
Despite these grave concerns, some individuals noted improvements in safety for the LGBTQ+ community. Carlos da Cunha, a 71-year-old hairdresser, shared, “Life for gay people is safer now than it used to be. In the past, people had to go to ghettos to meet others; you couldn’t just be anywhere. Now, we can walk down the street without being attacked, insulted, or humiliated.”
The pride parade served not only as a celebration of LGBTQ+ rights but also as a platform to address broader social issues, indicating the interconnectedness of environmental and social justice. “If we can’t respect the environment, how can we respect others?” questioned Alexia Soutinho, a 23-year-old student who identifies as pansexual and resides in the Cidade de Deus favela.
