The experience of an LGBTQI+ person in the process of assuming their sexuality depends on an important factor: the reception of those around them.
In an interview with CNN Rádio, Ikaro Kadoshi, presenter and drag queen, gave an important account of his experience in the 80s, when homosexuality was still considered a disease in Brazil.
“On my way out of the closet, I put my clothes in a bundle and told the family. My mother was amazing, she gave the home base, but the surrounding families were the opposite,” she said.
Ikaro said that his grandfather’s reaction was especially impactful: “My grandfather took me to an exorcism, because he said I had the demon of lust in my body, to hypnosis sessions, brothels so that I could become a man ‘by force’”.
“The family said that I had soiled the blood of the lineage, that I didn’t deserve to walk on the same sidewalk. Only today are psychology and sociology researching the impact this had on the generation that is 35/40 years old,” she recalled.
Ikaro reinforces that it is important to talk about people who welcome, understand and support: “LGBTQIA+ people have a reality in which we are families by choice, not by blood, we have 20 shelters, I know some, but everyone lacks the will to want to help and do something to change this situation.”
These houses, according to the drag queen, “not only welcome, but try to make this transformation of people’s lives, regardless of their age.”
“It’s a herculean struggle, but many projects are emerging, companies are specializing, I’m happy to see that we’re living a moment when these consciences are getting where they should be”, he added.
Source: CNN Brasil
