Heterosexual pride parade sparks controversy in Brazil
August 5, 2011
Sau Paulo, Brazil, is the biggest city in South America and also the host of a large-scale gay pride parade each year.
Now, Carlos Apolinario of the right-wing Democrats Party is pushing for a Heterosexual Pride parade. This move has been met with much opposition, as many people are accusing the parade of being homophobic and insulting to the gay rights movement. While there is a large gay community in Sau Paulo, homophobia is still a major concern, and many fear that the heterosexual pride parade could further solidify those negative ideals.
"The creation of Heterosexual Day does not symbolize a struggle against gays, but against what I believe are excesses and privileges," Apolinario told The Christian Science Monitor.
The gay pride parade takes place on Paulista Avenue, one of the city's busiest, most well-known streets, while an evangelical parade, March for Jesus, is forced to take its demonstrations elsewhere.
Apolinario and other advocates of the new parade may be fighting for everyone's right to express their pride or they may have ulterior motives, but controversy always surrounds efforts of this nature, regardless of intentions. People can use international phone cards to make phone calls to Brazil to talk to their friends and family about the parades and the meaning of it all.