Amanda Dias: All kinds of rage against LGBTQ+ increased in Brazil

Amanda, can you introduce yourself a bit? What do you do? Where do you come from?

I am 23 years old, I come from Brazil, Sao Paolo and I moved to Prague 3 years ago, as I was looking for a safer place to live.

What do you mean by looking for a safer place to live?

I was looking for safety in all sorts of ways – being a woman, you are already labeled in Brazil. There is a very catholic environment, and women have to serve a man, often stuck at home with toxic atmosphere. You can be kidnapped, harassed at any point.

I come from a very violent and insane background, quite not the richest  family. I wanted a more comfortable life, so I went first to Slovakia and then to Prague, fell in love with the city, and stayed. I worked first in the hospitality sector, now I work at Johnson & Johnson. I am also a model at the “New aliens agency” known for inclusivity /race, XXL, Latinos, all different people. It is the unique agency that forces the Czech market to understand differences and does a bit of activism.

At this moment I am very happy here, and I want to stay. I have found a partner (male), great friends, and a community around me that accepts me. I identify myself as pansexual (pansexual people are people attracted to people regardless of their gender). I was studying business, but when COVID hit the world, I started working full-time to support people in Brazil (works with charities) and decided to quit my studies. In the future, I want to study design and architecture.

What is the situation of the LGBTQ+ people in Brazil?

They have done a lot for their rights, hate crime became illegal there, and the situation improved. Unfortunately, now the president opened doors to all sorts of hate – he is homophobic and proud of it.  All kinds of rage against LGBTQ+ increased (rapes, killings). So LGBTQ+ community is stepping back and regressing.

How did your family and closest friends react to your coming out?

I have never talked much about my sexuality, neither have I talked about this with my family (only one person in the family knows). I really do not feel the need to explain this to my family; it does not make sense to come out. Now I am with a male partner, but I had girlfriends before. My mother knew about those. I was forced to come out at school when I was around 13, 14 years old (when I kissed another girl at school). It was a horrible experience; I was harassed and labeled as a whore. That happened at an American school where I  was the only kid with a scholarship, and I only had one friend at that school.

What reactions do you face in everyday life? Can you compare the online/offline world?

Well, Brazilian people are very conservative and judgemental in general. I was often attacked, exposed to hate speech,  called “confused” by people at school. So there were definitely negative experiences. 

I must confess that I was confused at the beginning as I could not really feel to men at first. But I guess that was because the majority of them are toxic in Brazil. Anyway, people did not take me seriously – I actually did not fit either “category” –  I was not straight or gay, not even the LGBTQ+ community took me in. I was a “lone wolf.” 

Here in Prague, I haven’t experienced much hate. There is a great community that accepts me. But sometimes, just old people discriminate against me for being a foreigner. I am not very active online for my own protection, so I do not have to deal well with hate.

Do you see changes in our society in understanding and accepting LGBTQ+ people?

Yes, definitely, I consider Prague to be on a good path.

Is there any message you would like to share?

Be grateful and proud for who you are. Allow yourself to be yourself because then you live a better life. Your happiness should be your priority – fight for what you think is right. It will be challenging, but the struggle pays off – you are allowed to surround yourself with people who accept you for who you are. You do not choose your family, but you can select your friends who make you feel good. You do not need acceptance from your family.

Credits:

Photography: Vlad Shaf @vladshaf

Production: Ngoc Anh Nguyen @imthxqueenb