The thing with telling “cliche” stories, but with representation, is… these stories aren’t cliche for us.
Picture this. The people at the table next to you have been getting chocolate cake as a dessert for YEARS. After every meal, they get a chocolate cake. Now, it’s been years, and the people at that table can barely stand chocolate anymore. They want maybe a cheesecake. Or lemon mousse.
But your table? Has NEVER had chocolate cake. Mousse is also good, but you are SO hungry for that chocolate cake, cause you never had it before, and it’s brand new for you, and you’ve been watching the other table eat it for YEARS.
That’s what’s like getting a “cliche” story that’s representative. Has it been done a million times before? Yes. Has it ever been done for US? Well… no. Maybe it’s the 500th chocolate cake in existence, but all the other chocolate cakes weren’t meant for us (girls/PoC/queer folk/disabled folk/etc)
So it being cliche is not a bad thing. You may not want chocolate cake anymore. But we want our slice too.
I know Tumblr tends to be very US-centric, but there is something happening in my country that I absolutely have to share.
Soon, Brazil will host presidential elections. These are the first elections since the impeachment of our last president Dilma Rouseff.
The leading candidate is currently Jair Bolsonaro. Bolsonaro is a man who has made racist, sexist, and homophobic claims such as, “I would rather my son die in a car accident than be gay,” and, “my sons would not date black women as they were well educated.” He even said to a woman that she was, “so ugly” that she, “didn’t even deserve to get raped.”
A few decades ago, when Brazil was under a military dictatorship, the government tortured many people for speaking out against the regime. Bolsonaro has said that, “their only mistake was not killing those people.”
However, something incredible has been happening.
A movement called Mulheres Unidas Contra Bolsonaro (Women United Against Bolsonaro) has been surfacing. The hashtag #EleNão (#NotHim) has been getting popular and gaining international attention.
Yesterday, women all over Brazil (and the world!) protested against Bolsonaro.
Here are some pictures.
São Paulo, Brazil:
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil:
Ilhéus, Brazil:
Cuiabá, Brazil:
Porto Alegre, Brazil:
Brazilians living abroad also joined the protests!
Zurich, Switzerland:
Madrid, Spain:
Melbourne, Australia:
New York City, US:
Protests occurred in over 62 cities around the world.
Even if you’re not Brazilian, please share this post! Show your support and raise awareness of the movement!
Astronaut bird 