Born in Belo Horizonte and raised in São Bernardo do Campo (SP), Neon Cunha is an independent activist and RenovaBR Alumni. With a history marked by the fight for dignity and rights, Neon exposed her life in search of changing legal procedures that were obstacles in the name and gender change processes of trans people. Crossed by various forms of prejudice - racism, poverty and LGBTphobia - her political trajectory comes from afar, as she herself says, with the sum of all her experiences. 

It was by accompanying her mother to work as a cleaner that Neon had her first experience of employment and, most importantly, the certainty that she was a woman. “The daughter of a great cleaner,” as the activist says in some interviews. It was also while cleaning that she began to gain an understanding of the places in the world that were delegated to women.

Building her path by alternating between studies and work, the activist gradually experienced invisibility and violence, understanding the impacts of her multifaceted identity on her daily life. Neon says that it was in downtown São Paulo where she was often able to receive and give support to her peers. “There was violence, but at the same time it was a place of celebration, resistance and denunciation,” she says. They discussed democracy, exclusion and the lack of belonging. 

The fight for inclusion and belonging 

For her, there was no specific moment in which she decided to embark on the transition. Rather, she simply realized that it was no longer enough to live as she was. It was from then on that Neon Cunha charted a path that would change the lives of many transgender people in Brazil. 

Her decision to rectify her documents in 2014 is intrinsically linked to the right to exist, without the need for a legal process for legal recognition of name and gender. The activist had her request for rectification of documents denied, which triggered an act of profound courage because, at the time, Brazilian law required a medical report for trans people to legally change their name and gender. For Neon, the requirement was an obstacle that “robbed the dignity and the very right to exist of countless people.” 

It was then that Neon asked the courts for the right to assisted death, if she could not change her name and gender without a medical diagnosis. In 2016, Neon Cunha won the case – assisted death was not authorized, but her act of bravery set a crucial legal precedent in the country and, since then, this action has directly influenced changes in legislation and the recognition of the rights of transgender people in Brazil. “In 2016, a black woman is telling Brazil that it was perverse,” the activist pointed out when telling the story in an interview. 

As Neon herself stated, “When we go beyond the individual, we build for society.” Her trajectory demonstrates how the personal fight for rights can generate a collective and lasting impact, consolidating Neon as an agent of transformation with an invaluable legacy.