Posts Tagged Brazil

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Police violence against Black women in Brazil caught on camera

Yesterday around the United States, people took part in direct actions to reclaim Martin Luther King’s legacy from the sanitized celebration that MLK Day has become, and remind our country that Black lives matter. After closing out 2014 — a year filled with a devastating loss of Black life and an inspiring swell to fight police violence — this feels like a beautiful way to kick off the racial justice movement in 2015. 

Yesterday around the United States, people took part in direct actions to reclaim Martin Luther King’s legacy from the sanitized celebration that MLK Day has become, and remind our country that Black lives matter. After closing ...

In Latin America, safe abortions are for the rich and the lucky

Before Alana* found out that she was pregnant, she had plans to get a job and go to college. Now, after her abortion, she’s unemployed, thousands of dollars in debt, and fighting depression. And she’s one of the lucky ones.

Alana is a young woman living with her parents in a low-income community outside of a Brazilian city.

Before Alana* found out that she was pregnant, she had plans to get a job and go to college. Now, after her abortion, she’s unemployed, thousands of dollars in debt, and fighting depression. And she’s one of ...

6 topics for an HBO TV series on Brazil more original than “high end (white) sex workers”

Earlier this month, HBO Latino announced an upcoming new series titled “El Negocio,” about three white women looking to revolutionize the sex work industry in Brazil, and the concept made me yawn. 

Earlier this month, HBO Latino announced an upcoming new series titled “El Negocio,” about three white women looking to revolutionize the sex work industry in Brazil, and the concept made me yawn. 

Like in the US, Black women in Brazil face racist state violence

On August 22nd, over 50,000 people hit the streets of Brazil to protest the killings of Black Brazilians as a result of the drug war. Similar to protests happening in Ferguson, the Second National March Against the Genocide of Black Peoples called out an epidemic of police violence that makes the US’s pale in comparison.

On August 22nd, over 50,000 people hit the streets of Brazil to protest the killings of Black Brazilians as a result of the drug war. Similar to protests happening in Ferguson, the Second National March Against the Genocide ...

How women in Brazil are fighting back against street harassment

A few months ago, the Brazilian Research Institute published a report documenting that 65 percent of Brazilians believed that if a woman showed too much skin, she deserved to be raped. Before that, Adidas created a shirt that promoted the World Cup through the objectification of women’s bodies. Developments and increased militarization for upcoming mega-events continue to hurt primarily women of color, as seen in the horrific killing of Claudia Silva Ferreira back in March.

The struggle for women’s human rights in Brazil is real, but as the World Cup looms ever closer, let’s resist the temptation to believe that Brazilian women are victims who need saving. Brazilian women are creatively fighting back.

A few months ago, the Brazilian Research Institute published a report documenting that 65 percent of Brazilians believed that if a woman showed too much skin, she deserved to be raped. Before that, Adidas created a shirt that promoted ...

Update: The #WeAreAllMonkeys banana selfie campaign was a planned marketing stunt

It turns out that Dani Alves’ witty reaction to a banana being thrown onto the soccer field that I wrote about earlier this week was a planned marketing stunt.

I don’t know about you, but I think this speaks to why the ensuing social media reaction felt like such a hollow campaign. What’s troubling to me is not that it was somewhat staged, but that in the planning, no one thought of anything more substantive. Jude Wanga wrote a good piece on the topic, and what actions could have actually been taken: 

It turns out that Dani Alves’ witty reaction to a banana being thrown onto the soccer field that I wrote about earlier this week was a planned marketing stunt.

I don’t know about you, ...

Why I am not a monkey

Update: It turns out this was a planned marketing stunt.

Last Sunday during a soccer match between Villareal and Barcelona, a fan threw a banana at the Brazilian Barcelona defender Dani Alves as he went to make a corner kick. Alves has made internet history with his witty response: without missing a beat, he grabbed the banana, took a bite, then jumped right back in the game. Since then, Brazilian Facebook and Twitter have taken off with photos of soccer players, celebrities, and ordinary citizens posing with bananas, accompanied by the hashtag #todossomosmacacos  or “we are all monkeys.”

Unfortunately, taunts about bananas and references to black people as “monkeys” within soccer is embarrassingly common. And for someone from Brazil — where ...

Update: It turns out this was a planned marketing stunt.

Last Sunday during a soccer match between Villareal and Barcelona, a fan threw a banana at the Brazilian Barcelona defender Dani Alves as he went to ...

Art to inspire in the face of injustice: Claudia Silva Ferreira

Trigger warning: graphic police violence

On the morning of March 16th, Claudia Silva Ferreira left her house in Rio de Janeiro to buy bread. On her way, she was caught in a gun fight between drug traffickers and a pacifying police unit, who shot her. Claudia was placed in the back of a police vehicle to be taken to a nearby hospital, but on the way to the hospital, she fell out of the trunk. Caught on the car, her body dragged along the pavement for over two blocks. She was pronounced dead at the hospital.

Claudia was a poor black woman living in one of Brazil’s urban slums, known as favelas. 

The police later tried to claim ...

Trigger warning: graphic police violence

On the morning of March 16th, Claudia Silva Ferreira left her house in Rio de Janeiro to buy bread. On her way, she was caught in a gun fight ...

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