The map on the home page contains a lot of information. Below you will find some explanation for how it was created and what the different colors and shapes mean.
The map was created by finding the addresses where the murders happened or where the body was found. These addresses were usually found in local news reports. Not all of the cases were covered thoroughly or at all. If the name has one asterisk (*) by it, that means that the map location is semi-accurate. The marker may be accurate to a street or neighborhood, but may not be accurate to the exact location. This could be because of several reasons: the Google mapping system didn’t recognize the street (which is the case for many cases that occured in small towns), the exact location wasn’t know, or the location is being protected because a family or individual still lives there. If the name has two asterisks (**) by it, that means that the marker is only accurate to the city. Most of the suicide cases are only accurate to the city.
The map also uses colors and shapes to include more information. The colors represent certain groups within the LGBT community in Brazil: red = gay, orange = lesbian, yellow = trans (trans-masc and trans-fem), blue = travesti (transvestite), and purple = heterosexual. Heterosexual victims were counted if their incident was in some way related to the death or protection of an LGBT individual. It is important to note that these categories were taken directly from the Grupo Gay de Bahia’s information. Most new sites incorrectly report these things; for example, calling a transexual woman or travesti “homosexual”.
Travestis are not trans individuals. Travestis have long been a part of the Brazilian LGBT community and have historically suffered extreme discrimination. While the term technically translates to “transvestite” in English, it does not correctly translate because travestis are a Brazilian LGBT group different from other LGBT communities across the globe. If you are interested in learning more, I would highly recommend reading Beneath the Equator: Cultures of Desire, Male Homosexuality, and Emerging Gay Communities in Brazil by Richard Parker or do some of your own research on the topic.
When considering the shapes of the markers, each shape represents a different racial indentity: square = white, circle = pardo (mix), or star = black. It is important to note that race is constructed differently in Brazil and individuals may identify differently than you would assume. If the marker looks like a “normal” marker, the race wasn’t identified.
Verdade Poderosa 