Last Tuesday (29), Trans Visibility Day, the Coordination of Sexual Diversity of Rio de Janeiro in partnership with the Municipal Health and Civil Defense Secretariat held the XNUMXst Trans Citizenship Seminar – Dignity, Inclusion and Respect.
Important names from the Brazilian trans community participated in the debate, such as writer João W. Nery and model Lea T.
"The biggest demand is training for the job market, which we defend at CEDS through the Damas project, training and insertion of these professionals. As managers, we have to guarantee the right to citizenship for all citizens. We raise the flag of a Rio without prejudice, you don't need to understand, but we have to respect diversity, because it's the law", said Carlos Tufvesson, head of Coordination, at the opening of the event.
Throughout the debates, which were attended by an audience of approximately one hundred people, topics related to the experience of transvestism and transsexuality were discussed.
"Yes, there is transphobia. But I overcame it and today I am employed in a company where I am respected as a professional. Our place is not on the street. Our place is anywhere", said lawyer Tatiana Crispim.
João W. Nery, an icon among male transsexuals, spoke about the difficulty in changing his social name. "I have been fighting to get the name changed on my diploma. Two months ago I filed a request with the college and the college secretary called me and said that there had never been a case like this. I explained that, therefore, I wanted to file the process, to open the doors for the next trans people," he said.
The writer João W. Nery
Lea T., who caused controversy in Fantástico when he said he regretted the sex change surgery, clarified the controversy surrounding the subject. "I'm proud to be transsexual. I'm lucky that I found a psychologist who helped me understand that I have to be myself and accept this factor before having the surgery. Biologically we will never be a real woman", declared Lea.
The famous Rio transformist Jane Di Castro congratulated Lea on her courage. "Your statement moved me. No one can say you are right or wrong. I worked in Paris with several patients who committed suicide because they were not transsexuals, but transvestites like me. I am not a woman, I am a transvestite and I was transformed through art."
Actress and singer Cláudia Celeste, who is 60 years old and has a career of 40, said that the important thing is to be proud of the person you are. "The most important thing is that we are trans. That's what makes us happy. Let's live as we are. I've been married to the same husband for 30 years, I live the life of a person who gets married, who likes each other and has managed to find fulfillment at work , like any human being", concluded Cláudia.
Artist Jane Di Castro
