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Duncan Grant
Duncan Grant's Journal
Duncan Grant's Journal
March 16, 2014
Transgender Models Prosper in Brazil, Where Carnival and Faith Reign
Video:
http://www.nytimes.com/video/world/americas/100000002770175/more-acceptance-for-transgender-models.html?playlistId=1194811622182
NYT: Transgender Models Prosper in Brazil, Where Carnival and Faith Reign
I'm always interested in LGBT issues outside of American culture. The videos imbedded in the article are interesting, too.SÃO PAULO, Brazil As a young boy in Brazils heartland, Carol Marra watched her parents politely correct strangers who said what a pretty daughter they had. In her teenage years, she coveted the boyfriends of her female classmates and tried out androgynous outfits, dutifully changing back into a young mans clothes in her car before returning home.
Now a favorite among Brazils growing class of transgender models, Ms. Marra, 26, has become a star. She filmed two mini-series for major Brazilian television channels, is starting a lingerie line, and was the first transgender model to walk Fashion Rio considered a top national runway event and also the first to pose for Revista Trip, a Brazilian culture magazine that features female nudes.
Her popularity points to striking, if precarious, gains in Brazils popular culture for Ms. Marra and her small number of peers. In a country that publicly celebrates its mixed-race and multicultural heritage, Brazils cosmopolitan capitals like São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro have become places where crossing gender lines is increasingly accepted. Still, transgender models themselves say Brazil is also in many ways a deeply conservative country with strong religious forces that can create a hostile environment for its gay and transgender population.
They say Brazil is a liberal, progressive country, but its not really like that, said Ms. Marra, as a stylist curled her long dyed-blond hair in the upscale Jardins neighborhood of São Paulo before a television shoot.
Transgender Models Prosper in Brazil, Where Carnival and Faith Reign
Video:
http://www.nytimes.com/video/world/americas/100000002770175/more-acceptance-for-transgender-models.html?playlistId=1194811622182
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Gender: Do not displayHometown: Northern California
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