The number of Brazilians who “come out of the closet” after the age of 50

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Each year the number of Brazilians, over 50 years old, who “come out of the closet” grows. An article published by VEJA magazine, consulted 10 aging experts in the LGBTQIA+ community (sexologists, anthropologists, sociologists, psychiatrists and geriatricians) and they were unanimous in confirming that the group that is over 50 is more open to revealing their sexual orientation.

“The taboo on sexuality in old age has decreased and this has encouraged people in this age group to come out, which was much more difficult ten years ago,”says Carmita Abdo, coordinator of the Program for Studies in Sexuality at the USP School of Medicine. This stimulus, according to the report, often comes from the world of celebrities, where gay couples come out in public to talk about their relationships.

The most recent revelation came from actor Carmo Dalla Vecchia, 50, during a presentation of “Super Dança dos Famosos”, by the now extinct“Domingão” with Fausto Silva. On national television, Carmo spoke about her 16-year relationship with soap opera author João Emanuel Carneiro, 51. The two have a son, Pedro, aged 2 years. “I never hid the fact of being gay from those close to me. Now I realized that I had a chance to touch more people’s hearts and that this was a responsibility. I also want to be an example of courage for my son”, said the actor in an interview with VEJA.

The actor Marco Nanini, 73, also said that he has been married for over 30 years to producer Fernando Libonati, with whom he formalized a common-law marriage two years ago. Now Lulu Santos, Now Lulu Santos, 68, after a decades-long marriage to journalist Scarlet Moon, introduced the Bahia-born Clebson Teixeira as his boyfriend in 2018 – the two got married the following year. The humorist Luiz Fernando Guimarães, 71, also made official in 2019 his relationship of more than 20 years with businessman Adriano Medeiros, with whom he has just adopted two children, Dante, 10, and Olívia, 9.

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Revealing homosexuality to people close to you is not always easy. But what was taboo is now portrayed in fiction and encourages people to talk about the topic with their families. The retired nurse Ângela Fontes, 69, after being inspired by the couple played by Fernanda Montenegro and Nathalia Timberg in the soap opera “Babilônia”, decided to tell her conservative family that she is a lesbian. Since then, Angela has stopped hiding her relationship with Willman Rocha, 74. The two got married civilly and religiously in early October. “Coming out was like taking a ton off your back,” says the retiree.

The stylist Ronaldo Fraga, 54, from Minas Gerais, spent his entire adult life married to a woman — until he fell in love with a man. After the divorce, he talked to his two children about his sexual orientation. “Hiding wouldn’t be fair to them, me and my boyfriend. I consider myself bisexual, and I decided to live this experience because I understand that life is short, but it can be long”, says Fraga, who has been dating for three years the beekeeper Hoslany Fernandes.

Brazilians who began to reveal their sexual orientations over 50 years old were young when the LGBTQIA+ movement began to organize itself in the world and in Brazil. Starting in 1990, when the World Health Organization (WHO) removed homosexuality from the list of diseases, the community began to conquer its rights over the years, such as marriage and adoption. “More than half a century later, the patriarchy that placed masculinity in a position of power is increasingly questioned”, says psychoanalyst Regina Navarro Lins.

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