GOOD FOR THE GAYS?

[trilingual]

This weeks "Veja" (Brazil's largest newsweekly and the largest-circulation newsweekly outside the U.S.) has a big story, with pix, about Rio becoming the latest gay vacation destination! The article focussed on mainstream gay travel (and not the M4M sector) and the benefits it brings to the local economy. This follows some other recent articles in the local press about the gay travel boom to Brazil. Some of those articles have mentioned the attractions of Rio's commercial sex scene.

 

So far I haven't seen any article with photos of our bright shining faces in it, but it could happen! On the one hand, it seems like a good thing that the important role gay tourism plays in the economy is being recognized. On the other hand, it makes me nervous, too! :-) Too much exposure isn't always a good thing, I'm afraid.

 

Obviously there's no way to stop the papers and magazines from doing their jobs, but does it seem to you guys that so much publicity is a good or a bad thing? Opinions? Have we been TOO successful in promoting the wonders of Brazil?

 

BTW, there have been similar articles recently in the Argentine press about the gay tourism boom to B.A., which doesn't have an escort scene comparable to those in Brazil but otherwise has a remarkably rich and varied gay scene and lots of handsome men!

[+ Lucky]

Gosh, tri, I guess if you cannot find anything else to worry about this is as good as anything! How could this hurt? I don't really see your point! Bird flu, tri! Worry about that for us, okay?

[trilingual]

Well, I'm not going to lose sleep over this! But I'm curious about what others think.

 

One thing seems to be certain: Brazil's been "re-discovered" by the gay globe-trotters. And once we've descended on a place in droves, it's only a matter of time before the masses of straight tourists begin showing up. We are trend-setters, after all! The mental image of Rio turning into Mazatlán or Cancún makes me shudder, even though I know what a help it would be to the local economy. I can live with that, as long as the local authorities don't suddenly get the notion that a "clean-up" drive along the line of Rudi Giuliani's is necessary to make Brazil "safe" for the visiting middle-classes!

 

Of course, if we could arrange it so all the mass-market tourists end up in Barra (they'll love it, it's just like home!) and leave the rest of Brazil to us, that would work perfectly! }(

[Mike_M]

Wouldn't it be nice if there were articles in US papers talking about how gay dollars are going out of the country due to the increasing homophobic attitude of Federal, State and local authorities that has led to hundreds of closings of gay clubs. Giuliani here in New York was especially bad for us, pushing his jesuit schoolboy agenda on what was once the most wonderful gay playtown in the world. I would venture to guess it is costing New York easily millions of dollars a year in lost revenue.

 

I remember my first summer in New York in the 70's going to the trucks in Greenwich Village. That was an area where trucks were parked at night, when it was taken over by us every night for our use as a setting for an open-air orgy. It was hard for me to believe one night (recently arrived from provincial upstate NY) when there was a police sting to catch petty thieves who would pick your pocket while your pants were down around your ankels. Suddenly there was a lot of commotion as undercover cops materialized out of the crowd of cocksucking men, took into custody the pickpocket and then went on to apologize to the rest of us, sending us back on to our business! Those were heady days and the Village streets were thronged every night till early morning with gay men who had come from all over the world to live and play in this special city. The "christian" right has succesfully used aids phobia to turn the public against us and close our venues.

 

There was recently a thread about an urban planner who was in essence saying that a liberal acceptance of alternate life styles is good for city growth and development. I saw the Veja article online and think that the Brasilians are seeing the benefits inherent in the growth of tourism due the gay market. I also remember in the sixties reading in the Buffalo paper a story from Rio telling of attemts on the part of the then military dictatorship to identify and turn back homosexual tourists arriving in Rio for carnaval. I remember the sadness I felt as an ashamed, hidden homosexual as I pondered my future scorned by the world. We have seen here in the US all too well how quickly the winds shift.

[Guest Gringo]

I think the publicity is a double edged sword. I only hope there is no backlash to all this. There was such a backlash in the late 80s and many gay cariocas moved---many to France.:-(

[Guest msclonly]

I have seen things happen different from some of the imagined scenarios put out on this string.

Once a place gets TOO gay, the larger numbers of straight tourists

move on to avoid a lot of the public displays of sexual activities! Trucks or no trucks!

 

Palm Springs had a major migration out of people to the cities east of it to become more a gay mecca after an initial redevelopement due to the Casino opening. The Casino right in downtown kept the crowds. But now with The Bigger and Better Casino in Rancho Mirage, suspect the PS casino lost some luster. Both are run by the same tribe.

The other problem with TOO many gays is the clamp down on indiscreeet activities to control it for the family types, initially.

 

Exhausted destinations welcome gays to stay alive to keep remaining businesses alive. Then a rejuvenation or renovation takes place without opposition. So a suffering economy has a lot to do with how well the 'Welcome' mat is rolled out. Is Rio at that point yet?

 

 

:+

[Guest Deweywop]

Rio is a city of 10 million. It's got a way to go before being swamped by tourists, gay or not. The "mainstream gay" scene looks like it's got a way to grow yet.

 

That being said, I think the escort/commercial scene could get swamped. Either increase in tourist demand would raise prices and possibly attitudes, or rampant commercial sex might bring the clampdown. Brazil could take the position that it has nothing against gay tourists but does not want foreigners sexually "exploiting" its citizens. Developing countries are very touchy about sex tourism. Inevitably, someone will allege that minors are being hired.

 

The Dominican Republic went through a similar purge about 5 years ago. What I saw in my trip last year does not compare with the lurid accounts I've read about the DR's past. I would hate for Brazil to follow the same route, ruining the fun for clients and the opportunity for the professionals. Oh well.

[Guest Alex Apollus]

Engles por favor...

 

Also let us talk about advertising rates, okay?

[Guest msclonly]

It seems to be happening to Thailand, where some of the boys have raised their value$$ in a declining tourist market due to terrorists and the fear of SARS. A BIG jump of 50% from last year!

 

 

 

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[trilingual]

There have been numberous articles in the Brazilian press about sex tourism, but for now it seems to be mostly focussed on sex with women, and minor women at that. It's a bit confusing, but at times it seems like the Brazilians are OK with sex tourism that involves adult partners (which kind of goes along with the general Brazilian attitude towards sexual behavior) and only strongly condemns sex with minors (people under 18 in Brazil).

 

Since the gay escort sauna scene only involves adults, and the guys aren't being held in bondage or otherwise exploited in the way women sex workers often are, I think the authorities aren't likely to get very interested, as long as its presence continues to be low-key and doesn't upset the neighbors. In this case, Brazilians have a kind of hypocritical attitude about sexual shenanigans that has been finely honed over the 500 years of its history: it's basically a version of "don't ask, don't tell," which in Brazil's case translates to "do whatever you want behind closed doors, but please don't talk about it in public." Of course, talk about sex has become much more open during the past decades, and the situation for gay people has advanced light years in just the past two decades, but there's always the risk of reaction. In Brazil I think it's somewhat more remote than in the U.S., which is in the throes of an attempted reactionary take-over (which I think will fail, but not in a very pretty or pleasant way). The forces of "goodness and purity" aren't as well organized and financed in Brazil as they are in the U.S., and they don't have the same kind of political power. But that doesn't mean they're non-existent, so the situation bears watching.

 

Still, I'm not particularly pessimistic. There's something kind of heartwarming (Popie Jopie may not agree) about the fascinating juxtaposition of Corujinha, with its openly scandalous clientele sitting right across from and happily coexisting with the principal Catholic church in Copacabana. (And in knowing that the church owns the property on the corner it leases to one of the biggest sex shops in town!) In that sense, Brazil ISN'T the U.S.!!! For which one must be eternally thankful!

[xchris]

My brasilian young gay friends, university students,are all afraid to show in public any detail of their sexual preference. They infact use always the word DISCREET to explain their style of living.

The eonly people they want to know their sexual orientation are close friends and sometimes family, with which the situation is often not happy for this.

The younger crowd seem to create a group in internet very popular with the site FOTOLOG.

 

Ciao

CHRIS

[kjun]

It is very unlikely that anything positive can come of this.

 

There are right-wing zealots everywhere and this is amunition for activities such trying to get the saunas closed.

 

Publicity of this type is not good.

 

the Cajun