- Title: BRAZIL-GAY PRIDE Rio celebrates gay pride
- Date: 16th November 2014
- Summary: LGBT PRIDE FLAG MOVING WITH THE CROWDS IN FRONT OF A ROW OF PALM TREES A FLOAT MOVING ALONG THE BEACHFRONT MALE DANCERS ON TOP OF A FLOAT
- Embargoed: 1st December 2014 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Brazil
- Country: Brazil
- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVA9DJK4XFG8C9FM470R1HEJLMQT
- Story Text: "One million voices" was the theme of the 19th edition of the Copacabana LGBT Pride march which ran alongside the iconic beachfront in full street-carnival fashion on Sunday (November 16) afternoon.
The objective of the movement is to bring visibility to the growing LGBT sector in society, and to promote the fight for equal rights between people of diverse sexual orientations.
Some 1.5 million people were expected to take to Copacabana for the march, which is the largest of a series of similar events which take place throughout Rio de Janeiro.
From 9A.M. (1100 GMT) some 200,000 male condoms and 5,000 female condoms were distributed to the participants, along with 100,000 packets of lubricant.
For participant Barbara Sikorska the march was important to represent LGBT people, however, the issue of "Pride" remains problematic.
"And I think it is important to be here, to represent, and to make people realize that this is the people that is part of our society," Sikorska told Reuters TV at the march.
"These people are the same and they deserve equal rights. So we are here, we are representing, we are having fun and this is how it should be, it should be normal, there shouldn´t be any gay prides, we should just all be together and it should just be a pride," Sikorska continued.
For transvestite Karen Patricia, however, the Pride march offered a very valuable opportunity to bring visibility to people like her.
"It is our time to give a wake up call to remind people that transvestites are here and that we want respect. That is what we are showing through this party here today," said Patricia.
"I think that more than anything the importance of this type of event is that other people can visualize, can begin to get used to seeing, let´s say, other people, and respect them as they are," said another participant, Lucas Bartes.
"To bring an end to so much prejudice, so much homophobia, so that we can live together in a more harmonious way, free from discrimination," Barthes added.
Another message spread loud and clear on T-shirts created for the parade was that "you do not need to be homosexual to fight against homophobia", hoping to attract more support for the movement from among the heterosexual community.
The event is to be followed by a Heterosexual Pride march on November 30, the organisers of which claim does not represent any homophobic sentiment, but which many already fear will create a divide.
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