We spoke to Brazilian BU students affected by the recent ‘gay cure’ treatment approval

In 1990, homosexuality was no longer considered a disease by the World Health Organization. But this week, the Federal Justice of the District Federal State in Brazil allowed psychologists to 'treat' homosexuality as if it were a disease. Although several states in the U.S. don’t have laws that punish this type of therapy, it used to be considered illegal throughout all of Brazil, precisely because it has no scientific basis and contributes to more cases of depression.

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In the center of this lamentable scenario, The Tab BU spoke to three Brazilian students about the impact of this practice on their lives, and on the LGBTQ community as a whole.

We first spoke to Maria Meirelles, a 16-year-old girl from Manaus, identifies herself as bisexual.

What was your reaction when you heard about this?

I’d like to say that I got really surprised, but I can’t. In the face of everything the Brazilian scenario has to deal with, such as the censorship of the Queer Museum exposition – by the conservative Justice – I knew that one day I would wake up with such news.

How did the people around you react?

It was really bad, because my relatives and people on social media were trying to soften things up, by saying that the ‘cure’ was not going to be mandatory, therefore it wasn’t that big of a deal to care about it.

What would you like to say to the LGBTQ youth?

To the Brazilian LGBTQ youth, in which I’m a part of, I wanted to say that we are much more than a law or a mandate. Resistance is one of the most incredible gifts we have had to develop, and we can go much further. We are not alone: we have an army with us!

(Doctor Drauzio Varella tells people that if you care about who your neighbor sleeps with, you're the one who should get medical care)

We then spoke with Júlia Nothaft, from Vitória; and Tiffany Rodrigues, from Recife. Both of them are ENG majors at BU, and identify themselves as straight women.

Do ​​you feel more afraid about what can happen to your close LGBTQ friends?

Tiffany: I have friends who are already 'out of the closet', and some who still hide their sexual orientation – because of their families. And it's clear that a therapy will not change who you feel attracted to; it will actually damage the person's mind. No one becomes straight by going to a doctor's appointment, or by doing any other thing.

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In many parts of the world, including Brazil, an increasing number of politicians address ideals based on hatred. How do you see Brazil five years from now?

Júlia: I think it’s very difficult to predict how Brazil's situation will be in this way, because even with those politicians gaining strength, opposition groups – that preach peace and equality- are formed, then there is a bit of a balance, which makes it difficult to predict a path.

In 2013, we had another proposal for a 'gay cure', made by a politician who gained a lot of notoriety at the time. Why do you think Brazil insists on this, even after several advances in social equality?

Tiffany: Sadly, we always had those politicians who adopted the misogynist/homophobic attitude to spread their words out. But, as I noticed along the years, they usually don’t accomplish anything, in part because we already have a great number of people who oppose them, and organize rallies and other movements to let them know they are going the wrong way.

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It’s sad watching a country with so much diversity having to deal with this in 2017 – as it is also hard to see this in other nations.

What's ironic though, is that Brazil's flag has a motto with the words 'order and progress.' So maybe the most important question to ask right now is: why was there a need to cause a disorder in a community, and a retrogression in the whole country? What was the order or progress being made here?

@TheTab