Brazilian influencer Bianca Barreto has been sentenced to two years in prison and fined R$20,000 (around $3,800) for misgendering Duda Salabert, a transgender MP for the left-wing Socialism and Liberty Party (Partido Socialismo e Liberdade).
Salabert, a former teacher, is a biological man who identifies as a woman. In 2024 Barreto released a video about Nikolas Ferreira, a congressman from the right-wing populist Liberal Party, who was fined for referring to Salabert with masculine pronouns back in 2020. Barreto spoke out against the punishment and asserted that she will continue referring to the trans politician as ‘Sir’ and with masculine pronouns. She also added that ‘a man is a man, a woman is a woman’ in her video, which got her a criminal prosecution of her own.
While there is no specific criminal statute against misgendering trans people in Brazil, Barreto—just like Ferreira back in 2024—was convicted under the 1989 Law of Racism.
As per a 2019 Supreme Federal Court decision, misgendering offences can be charged under the anti-racism law in the South American country, as the majority decision argued that homophobia and transphobia are forms of ‘social racism’.
The controversial decision came under the presidency of Jair Bolsonaro, when progressive activists in the country feared that LGBTQ rights protections would be rolled back. The National Congress failed to pass a bill making homophobia and transphobia criminal offences; thus, the Supreme Court included them in the anti-racism statute. The ruling was a six–five decision.
Bianca Barreto to Appeal Misgendering Conviction
Barreto has posted to her Instagram about her conviction. In a post on Sunday, 9 August, she wrote:
‘A WHITE WOMAN WHO CONVICTED ME OF RACISM AGAINST ANOTHER WHITE PERSON. I’M THE BLACK WOMAN IN THIS STORY. We’re appealing. It’s an open prison sentence, which means that if I’m convicted with no chance of appeal, I’ll be doing community service (I think). As a result, I’ve lost my status as a first-time offender. I’ll say more in the next few days.’
The Portuguese-language edition of MSN.com has also confirmed in their reporting that her defence will be appealing her sentence. Her counsel also stated that she has never advocated any form of violence, persecution or hatred, and that her comments fall within the constitutional guarantees of freedom of expression.
Ferreira, whose comments about the socialist congressman had prompted Barreto to make her video, never served time in prison and is still a sitting Member of the Chamber of Deputies of Brazil.
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