"Love between women." This was the headline on the cover of the May 1979 edition of the Rio de Janeiro newspaper Lampião da Esquina, the first in Brazil to openly address the "homosexual cause" – as the LGBTQIAPN+ agenda was called at that time.
Image description: The image is a black-and-white magazine cover. At the top, "LAMPIÃO" is written in large, bold letters. Below, there is information about the issue number: "Year 1 - No. 12 - May 1979 - Cr$18.00." To the right, it reads "Reading for those over 18" and "from the corner." The center of the image features large highlighted text reading "LOVE BETWEEN WOMEN," with subtitles and phrases around it. The bottom section presents a banner with the text "WANTED" and more phrases below.Founded in 1978, in the midst of the Military Dictatorship, Lampião had the courage to celebrate love between people of the same gender and denounce police violence against travestis, as well as point out the prejudiced tone that some newspapers used when talking about the LGBTQIA+ population.
With a diverse editorial staff – made up of journalists, anthropologists, poets, and film critics – and covering topics ranging from the “gay cause” to racial and feminist struggles, as well as subjects that remain taboo to this day, such as love between people with disabilities, Lampião da Esquina was listed among the “press opposing the government,” which circulated among the different bodies of the repressive system.
Being on that list made Lampião da Esquina a declared target of the military regime, and in April 1979, 5 of its editors were booked by the Federal Police on the grounds of "offense to morals and public decency," in one of the countless attempts to censor the newspaper and the LGBTQIA+ population. The fact was denounced on the front page of the periodical, which further compared these punishments for the "crime" of being homosexual to "white-collar crimes," committed by those who almost always went unpunished.
Image description: The image is a black-and-white newspaper cover. At the top, the title "Lampião" appears in large, bold letters. Below it, there is information about the year and month issue, dated September 1979. The cover features a main article with the headline "Homossexuais se organizam" ("Homosexuals organize"). A photo shows a person in profile, with long hair, wearing a white shirt. To the left of the photo is written "As confissões de Darlene Glória" ("The confessions of Darlene Glória"). To the right, there is a triangle with the word "Exclusivo" ("Exclusive"). Below the photo are three subheadings separated by diagonal lines, each containing a different headline: "Altos papos sobre travestis" ("Deep talks about travestis"), "Minas elegerá sua 'Miss Gay'" ("Minas Gerais will elect its 'Miss Gay'"), and "Chantage no banheiro da Central" ("Blackmail in the Central Station restroom").Confidential bulletins produced by the Divisão de Segurança e Informação described Lampião as a newspaper dedicated to “promoting homosexuality” and responsible for addressing “subjects that offend morality and good customs”. But, despite all the criticism and attempts at silencing it, the periodical, published monthly, circulated until 1981 and had 38 issues, which can be accessed on the website of the Centro de Documentação Prof. Dr. Luiz Mott (CEDOC).
