Laerte, a Brazilian Transgender Cartoonist Who Became a Netflix Movie

A documentary that premiered this week on Netflix explores the life of a Brazilian transgender cartoonist who says she wants to break taboos surrounding her gender identity.

Laerte Coutinho, better known as simply Laerte and one of Brazil’s best-known cartoonists and comic strip artists, introduced herself as a woman at the age of 60.

“I’m at a point where all of that ceased to be taboo for me. It stopped being a problem, and so for that to become a positive experience for other people I think is great,” Laerte, now 65, said in Sao Paulo during the presentation of “Laerte-se,” a Tru3Lab production for Netflix.

A film sprinkled with humor and featuring some rehearsed scenes, the documentary takes viewers inside Laerte’s home and provides insight into her life and career.

Laerte says that it was through her cartoons — and particularly the character Hugo, a man in a constant state of transition who converses with his female alter-ego, Muriel — that she began to explore her identity as a woman.

Her illustrations complement the dialogue throughout the documentary, which was directed by journalist Eliane Brum and filmmaker Lygia Barbosa da Silva.

A camera accompanied Laerte for months and captured different aspects of her life for the documentary.

teleSUR

Tags:

You May Also Like

Pictures of a younger Luiz Carlos da Rocha and now

After 30 Years and Plastic Surgery, Police Nab Brazil’s Number One Druglord

Police have captured one of South America’s biggest cocaine kingpins, Luiz Carlos da Rocha, ...

Rita Peixoto and Carlos Fuchs CD

Independent in Rio – Part II

More and more artists are taking control of their own recordings. Rita Peixoto and ...

The pandemic blew up some carefully constructed 'polycules.' Bilyana Stoyanovska/EyeEm via Getty Images

It Isn’t Easy Being a Polyamorous in These Times of Pandemic

A few years ago I started conducting interviews with over 100 people about their ...