Maria Gadú, born Maria Corrêa Aygadoux, MPB's absolute success among young girls and women, recently declared the following in Folha de S. Paulo:
“They want me to raise the 'I'm gay' flag. I don't want. Otherwise it seems like I'm belittling the other option, straight. I don't give a name to what I am, why would I say what a fucking faggot I am? It's really fucked, but it's also straight. Besides, I don’t know who I’m going to meet tomorrow.”
Gods of the universe (including everyone, evangelicals, Catholics, Muslims, Jews), do we have another closeted one? Oh, no one needs this in MPB… Let's break down the problems with this statement.
There are a lot of people who call disaffection “faggot”, so saying that “faggot is a faggot” doesn’t resolve the issue. In fact, it only confirms that the singing girl needs to be a little more careful with her speech to the big, medium and small press. I want to make it clear that I am a fan of Gadú and I take the liberty of pulling her ears, because without a doubt she is a role model for her fans. So, if the singer makes this mistake, it is almost certain that they will repeat it.
Worse is making the serious mistake of declaring that being gay or straight is an “option”. No one “chooses” or “opts” to be homosexual or heterosexual. To say that someone's sexual orientation – or even a person's sexual condition – is a choice is absurd. Who would choose to suffer gratuitous physical violence for simply walking in the streets or strolling in squares, putting up with verbal aggression, hearing insults for no apparent reason, suffering all types of discrimination, in addition to having their fundamental rights denied and their dignity outraged and disrespected? Tell me! Who?
“Sexual preference” and similar expressions should never be used, as, especially in the case of gays and lesbians, they suggest that homosexuality is a matter of will, and therefore “curable”, which goes completely against the current position of psychology.
Repeat after me: sexual orientation. Nobody chooses to be transgender either, say: gender identity. And there is almost no situation in which it is acceptable to use popular terms, generally pejorative, for sexual minorities, such as fagot, queer, dyke, transvestite, etc. Remove them from your vocabulary, please.
Now this story of you saying, my dear singer Maria Gadú, that you don't know who you're going to meet tomorrow is the end. Stop freaking out, woman! Do you really want me to believe that, at 24 years old, you still don't know if you like girls or boys? This gives the impression that you are opening the door to release yet another statement of the kind that lesbians hate to hear from a singer who gives all the signs of liking women, that you are “bisexual”.
I'm not forcing anyone to come out of the closet, I don't have the authority to do so and I've already addressed this delicate subject before right here on Dykerama. Each one in their own time, at their own pace, because living in the open is much better. You certainly don't need to publicly declare your sexual orientation, nor go around raising gay, lesbian, bisexual flags, now, if you are an idol, avoid saying these phrases that seem designed to please straight people.
The vast majority of lesbians admire you as a singer and artist, I include myself in that group and I find your bad boy way of being charming, now how about following the example of your artistic companion Adriana Calcanhoto? My dear Lúcia Facco wrote a beautiful article about the artist, Adriana Calcanhoto's wedding, nothing was left in place, and among other things it says the following:
“What I would like to highlight is the importance of a public woman, respected in the music scene, for adults and children (who doesn't know the wonderful Adriana Partimpim?), having assumed homosexuality, contrary to the practice of the vast majority of women who circulate on stages, magazine covers, television programs, etc., who prefer to remain inside cramped closets (some with glass doors) for fear of 'damaging their image' among the public.”
Important detail: the process of self-acceptance can last a lifetime. A lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender identity is constructed primarily for oneself. This may or may not be revealed to other people.
I finish with Mário Quintana, this wonderful poet from Rio Grande do Sul. “Over time, you will realize that to be happy you need to learn to like yourself, to take care of yourself and, above all, to like those who also like you. The secret is not to chase the butterflies… it’s to take care of the garden so that they come to you.”
I have the impression that singer Maria Gadú is not taking care of her garden, she will end up scaring away not only the butterflies but the frogs too.
Long live diversity! Ever.
* Hanna Korich is one of the founding partners of Editora Malagueta, now Brejeira Malagueta – the first and only publisher dedicated to lesbian literature in Latin America, since 2008.
