My Body is Political

Brazil is one of the most violent places for the LGBTI community. It is estimated that in every 19 hours, a LGBTI person is murdered in the country. In 2017, I heard about this training center that offers self-defense classes for women and LGBTIs. Piranha’s Team was created by a group of LGBTI instructors who decided to not only teach and empower people from their community, but also to create a safe environment for them to train – something rare in the fight/martial arts territory. To make themselves known, they posted signs on the streets where you could read: “Hey queer, hoe, tranny! Defend yourself! Self-defense for LGBTIs”. Larissa is a 31-year-old transgender woman who is enrolled in Piranha’s Team. Politically active, she usually participates in LGBTI events and marches. Since she lives away from the training center, whenever she has practice she stays over Casa Nem, a nearby LGBTI shelter where she catches up with friends. When I met her, she worked at a call center, but a few weeks later she got fired. Later, she got a job at a supermarket, but now she no longer works for them. She struggles to keep jobs, like many of her transgender friends. Most of them end up working in the streets, like Larissa once did. She doesn’t want that life for her anymore, so she tries to grasp every opportunity she gets - free courses, work programs for transgenders, any chance to learn and develop herself. Larissa feels her existence is an act of resistance. She carries around a tote bag where you can read: "My body is political".