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City May Require Transvestite Bathrooms
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 By
MICHAEL ASTOR Associated Press Writer
The Associated Press
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil Dec 14, 2005 — For most, it's a choice
of the men's room or the women's. A Brazilian city is trying to
give an option to those who don't fit easily into either category.
A bill passed by the Nova Iguacu city council on Tuesday would
require night clubs, shopping malls, movie theaters and large restaurants
to provide a third type of bathroom for transvestites. Mayor Lindberg
Farias will decide whether to make it a law.
"A lot of lawmakers didn't want to deal with this issue, but
it's a serious problem in society," said city Councilman Carlos
Eduardo Moreira. "It's a way to put an end to prejudice."
Moreira, a 32-year-old policeman on leave from the force, said
he got the idea when dozens of transvestites showed up for a local
samba show.
"It was a real problem. The women didn't feel comfortable
having them in the ladies' room, and the men didn't want them in
their bathroom either," said Moreira, who is married and the
father of two children. "I'm not doing this for my own benefit."
He said the "alternative bathrooms" could also be used
by men or women who didn't mind sharing space with transvestites.
Moreira said there are nearly 28,000 transvestites in Nova Iguacu,
a poor city of about 800,000 on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro.
Moreira said many transvestites are reluctant to go out because
there's no bathroom for them. And he denied that the cost of building
a third bathroom would be a big problem for restaurant or club owners.
"It requires an initial investment, but after that, the establishment
will end up making more money because it will have a larger public.
And transvestites like to spend," he said.
The issue has divided gay groups; some feared it could segregate
gays, while others said it recognized a problem within the gay community.
"At first we were against the law, but after some discussion
we decided we had to support it because it addresses a real problem
for a segment of the gay community," said Eugenio Ibiapino
dos Santos, a founder of the Pink Triangle Association, a gay group
in Nova Iguacu. "We see it as a way to open a discussion about
civil rights."
Brazil is generally more tolerant of homosexuality than other Latin
American countries, but discrimination still exists.
A study conducted by the Candido Mendes University in Rio de Janeiro
found that 60 percent of Rio's homosexuals had met some type of
harassment, and 17 percent said they had experienced physical violence.
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=1405440
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