LGBTQI + pride month: “PANELEIROS”? WHO ARE WE AND WHAT DO WE DO? - CULTURAL COMPETENCE FOR HOPE AND LGBT PRIDE João Alves Neto

“PANELEIROS”? WHO ARE WE AND WHAT DO WE DO? - CULTURAL COMPETENCE FOR HOPE AND LGBT PRIDE João Alves Neto

As a group and as individuals, we LGBT people have achieved achievements in different areas and in various ways. The Stonewall revolt in New York is one of the milestones for "LGBT Pride Day". Protagonists have stood out in several areas, which strengthen our identity, our rights and personal success, as in politics (Harvey Milk in the United States, Camille Cabral and Bertrand Delanoë in France, David Miranda in Brazil, among others (the )), in the arts (Josephine Baker, Daniela Mercury, ...), in the sciences, in sports, in short, in life, which includes public and anonymous people who seek rights and respect. However, in order to achieve the status of HOPE and PRIDE of being who we are, in a broad and relational way, LGBT or not, it is necessary to expand our knowledge, in relation to yourself and to others. We realize, everyone, that we are equal in our differences. We assume that we need CULTURAL COMPETENCE, an approach that aims to discuss population groups with differences in their needs, propagating the reduction of stigmas and prejudices. This time, it is possible to move from intolerance, ignorance and aggression to tolerance, respect and competence with oneself and with other people, strengthening the PEACE CULTURE.

To discuss these aspects, I discuss a situation. Hand in hand, my husband and I walked among the old buildings in the beautiful historic city center we live in. “PANELEIROS”! A male voice echoed. What apparently made him cry out his “war” cry was our display of warmth and intimacy. We already knew that “paneleiro” is the equivalent of “viado”, “bicha”, among other of those words “cute” used in Brazil. The place, surrounded by stories, seemed to repeat the sound of its author's animalistic and desperate scream. I wondered how many people in this desperate situation needed to shout what we had just heard. It is in this sense that I write this reflection. A reflection on the despair of ignorance, ignorance, insecurity, doubt because, after all, what does it mean to be a “Panelist”? And what does it mean to be desperate with a cry of discontent or anger?

As might be expected, the term “Paneleiro” comes from pots, but the difficult part is to understand how it became a pejorative expression. Going back in time, already in the 13th century, the buttocks had several popular synonyms, one of which was pots. As our mother tongue is "funny". And here in Portugal funny is not necessarily comical, it can also be something beautiful, “full of grace”. But “grace” can also be tragic, when it reflects the despair of someone who turns against other people to attack them. Such expression, in the face of an act of love between people of the same sex, shows their DESPERATION, the lack of hope, and the hurt PRIDE, of themselves and of others, of self-esteem. Hopelessness and hurt pride are associated with the lack of knowledge of what happens to you and to the other, an important aspect in LGBTphobic actions, which have several expressive forms and demonstrate the inconsistencies of the maturity of such individuals, their ignorance, insecurities and personal and relational doubts.

In this sense, I use two concepts to explain: that of SELF-CONCEPT CLARITY and that of COGNITIVE FUSION. SELF-CONCEPT CLARITY refers to how much representation each person has

of itself is closer to reality, its degree of sharpness of itself. AND COGNITIVE FUSION is the state of compromised behavior due to a thought, or a set of them, that make it difficult to regulate one's behavior, with less sensitivity to the direct consequences of what the individual does at that moment. LESS SELF-CONCEPT and GREATER COGNITIVE FUSION facilitates DESPERATE and compromises PRIDE.

In reflecting on the theme and developing studies and research, our rights and knowledge are evolving, but we still have tragic numbers, such as high rates, an “epidemic”, of violence and deaths in Brazil of LGBT people. In Europe, there are differences in this aspect, but we still have a certain “invisibility” that compromises actions in education and health in Portugal, for example, areas that I have been researching. In this way, it becomes more difficult to develop SELF-CONCEPT CLARITY and decrease COGNITIVE FUSION, important factors in CULTURAL COMPETENCE. Therefore, HOPE and PRIDE grow up in contexts of greater clarity for oneself and other people, and for greater ability to deal with situations of unknowns and doubts for questioning truths that must be relativized. That on this "LGBT Pride Day" we can improve our SKILLS.

MULTICOLOR Hugs for everyone!