Hyper Sexual Carnival Atmosphere has a Dark Side for Rio's Women Nicole Froio - The Independent UK
go to original February 27, 2013

The notorious festival encourages the objectification of women and during the weeks of the party there is an increase in sexual violence and hate crimes.

The beat of the drums resonates down the streets of Rio every year for three weeks. The city is alive with music – it’s time for Carnival. Known as one of the greatest parties on the planet, millions of people dance and celebrate to Brazilian music.

By definition, it is a carnal holiday with a lack of real authority. Thieves are so common in the crowds that people have taken to buying cheap phones to take out to the street parties in case they get robbed. There is no shame or punishment for peeing in the streets – for men or women. Flowerbeds and plants that are nurtured all year long are stepped on and destroyed. Historical monuments have to be protected by fences.

For many revellers, this is an opportunity for freedom. A few days off, drinking, partying, forgetting about bills and responsibilities.

And the environment is also an exaggeratedly sexual one. Parading down the Marquês de Sapucaí naked or very nearly so is common practice, and it has always been this way. The ‘sexier’ you look the better; a big butt, generous breasts and flat stomach are practically mandatory - especially for the drum queens who dance in front of the samba bands, keeping them motivated with their dancing and yes, their bodies.

Let’s  shoot straight: this is objectification of women in its truest form. Using a woman as a figurehead to keep up the spirits of male troops following behind is simply using her. Complete nudity is acceptable, sometimes desirable. But even the least revealing outfits for this position are as small as thong bikinis.

No doubt dancing and walking with a smile on your face for an hour and a half is hard work, a way to celebrate culture and Carnival, and even perhaps a way of feeling empowered, but all that time the woman is dancing she is seen as an object. Her measurements have to be right, perfect, sometimes even “fixed” and inflated by surgeries. She must be an incarnation of the ideal.

Read the whole story at The Independent UK

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