Brazil’s First Transgender Volleyballer Running for Congress

Tiffany Abreu, Brazil’s first transgender volleyball player will be a candidate for the country's congressional elections in October.

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“For 27 years, I've been consumed inside," Abreu told AFP. "I wanted to make my transition when I was 12 or 13 years old because even from childhood, I knew I was a woman. But I lacked information, guidance and above all, hospitals where I could get the operation done. … I could not live in that body anymore. I could not show that I was a man when I was a woman. I couldn't stand feeling ashamed of myself.”

Born as Rodrigo Pereira de Abreu to a poor family in the central town of Goias, the player’s transformation from the men to the women’s team was not smooth in a country where the number of crimes against the LGBT community is high. According to figures from the National Association of Transsexuals and Transvestites, Brazil has the world's highest rate of trans murders, with 179 in 2017 alone.

Brazil’s Superliga athlete faced criticism and rejection from women’s league players for having an unfair advantage for being trained as a man. She was ultimately allowed to play according to the rules of the International Olympic Committee which permit trans athletes to compete in women's competitions if the testosterone levels in their bloodstream remain controlled.

Abreu is facing new criticisms this year for deciding to run in the election for a candidate of MBD, the center-right party of the current unpopular President Michel Temer. The LGBT community of Brazil is critical of her choice in party — most LGBT candidates represent leftist parties in the polls.

Responding to the criticism, Abreu said. "I don't give any importance to parties, but to people.” She got linked to the party through her club Volei Bauru, which is sponsored by industries that support the MDB.

53 transgender candidates are running in the October polls, which is higher than the last election, where there were only five candidates from the community. Abreu falls among the minuscule number of transgendered candidates not representing a leftist party. But she is hopeful that her policies will help members of the community who struggle for acceptance in the country.

She is also aware of her future if she wins and knows that it will be an uphill battle to be accepted within the parliament.