An Epidemic of Transphobia on French Turf

Abstract

On September 22, 2022, a one-day international symposium took place in Rio de Janeiro: Epidemia de transfobia. This was actually a counter-event organized in response to another international event, Congresso Brazileiro de Transsexualidade, whose opening lecture, planned on the same day in Belo Horizonte, was entitled: A epidemia transgênero. This four- day conference was to close exactly a week before the Presidential election in Brazil, on October 2nd. Four years earlier, Jair Bolsonaro had used the homophobic fake news of a ‘gay kit’ allegedly distributed in schools to prevail over his opponent from the Workers’ Party, and anti-trans political rhetoric had since played an important role in his campaign against ‘gender ideology’. However, the transphobic conference was soon cancelled – probably due to widespread opposition, starting with that of the National Association of Travestis and Transsexuals (ANTRA). Still, the counter-event was maintained.