The (dis)advantages of (in)visibility: an analysis of the role of sexual orientation and gender identity in recent flows of forced migrants to Brazil

Abstract Since 2002, Brazil has been granting refugee status on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI). This topic has become more visible in the last few years due to the large flow of Venezuelans crossing the border, many of whom are not heterosexual and/or cisgender. However, there is an older, although less visible, flow of African people, mainly from Nigeria, Ghana, and Cameroon, who travel to Brazil in order to claim asylum because of their SOGI. Despite the fact that more research has been conducted recently on the intersection between migration and sexuality, most of this scholarship focuses on South-North movements, not South-South migrations with destinations such as Brazil. The aim of this article is to analyse the central role played by political and social (in)visibility of SOGI forced migrants in Brazil and the (dis)advantages provided by their (in)visibility. In order to do so, I draw on twelve months of ethnographic fieldwork in the city of São Paulo, which included participant observation and semi-structured interviews with SOGI forced migrants from African countries. I also draw on secondary data from ethnographies carried out with SOGI forced migrants from Venezuela in the cities of Boa Vista and Rio de Janeiro, as well as on official data published by the Brazilian government. My argument is that SOGI forced migrants play with their own (in)visibility, making strategic decisions before migrating to Brazil, during their journeys, and after their arrival in the country.