Gender

In general, Brazil may be known as a country where "macho" attitudes did exist, or continue to exist. I was under the impression that this macho ideology was especially omnipresent in the Serra Gaucha (southern Brazil) due to the gaucho (cowboy) subculture.

There was also the fact that, honestly, I guess I had my own preconceptions in coming to Brazil. I was expecting a “backwards” society in the sense of a more conservative one, with men and women playing more conservative roles.

However, I was pleasantly surprised during my stay in Rio Grande. I met many older, independent women professors at the federal university who were strong characters, confident and sans men. One was a single mother, one was on her way to Haiti for a year to teach Portuguese and another was on her way to Canada to conduct post-graduate research. These women were women of the world, of modernity, of accomplishment. And, however impressive they were, I got the impression that they didn't quite fit in, in the context of Rio Grande--a very conservative, small town. One professor in particular would comment about she seemed to be out of place in the society. She told me that men often found her intimidating, which was why she was single.

I also met quite a few homosexual men--some more open than others about their sexuality. I guess that I had come with the preconception that homosexuality would be taboo in a small town in southern Brazil, but one man in particular proved me wrong. He was everything but the typical macho, beef-eating cowboy (the South is the largest exporter of beef, and God it is good!). He was openly gay, in his thirties, a vegetarian and an environmentalist. I loved him! I remember this one time that we went out to a buffet restaurant and the waitress told us that the price to eat for a woman was 12 reais and for a man it was 16 reais. He exclaimed, "But I'm gay! And a vegetarian!". It is almost as if it ingrained in their society, in restaurants, that men eat more, especially more meat--a typical macho attitude. The waitress certainly did not know how to respond to my friend, she simply chuckled and went on with her work.

I think that Brazil can be seen as in the midst of a transition towards more liberal attitudes, especially considering gender. I mean, progressive women are just one indicator of changing gender roles. But, at the same time, there are still some negative attitudes, for example towards homosexual men—the word “viado” is a derogatory term for a gay man that is used to insult all men, gay or not.

I did receive some negative sexual attention while I was in Brazil, especially so probably because I looked so different than most people--blue eyes, light hair and fair skin. A lot of older men would wink and try pick-up lines, which of course is gross, but which perhaps is not so foreign to me because I live in the Latin neighbourhood of Toronto.

Speaking of older men and younger women, this is one thing that really shocked me in Brazil--the fact that there were a LOT of mixed-age couples. I constantly saw beautiful, young girls with older, often not the greatest-looking men. And this was an accepted norm. I asked the friends I made in Brazil about it, and nobody really thought there was anything wrong with it. I didn't express my opinion about it because I didn't want to seem patronizing or close-minded, but the truth is that I do not feel comfortable with the idea of generation gaps in relationships. I may not be justified, but I feel that there is something "wrong" with older men dating younger women.