“You know why she only ends up alone in an ice castle, because she is lesbian!” Damares Alves explained in the now viral video, going on to ponder on the “lesbian” nature of a kiss that the blonde heroine gave Sleeping Beauty to wake her up.
Taking to Twitter, lawyer and journalist Glenn Greenwald, who is openly gay and who tied the knot with his partner back in 2005, summarised the comments made in the video, citing the minister as referring to the demonstration of a “gay kiss” as “a very grave situation” for children.
In the clip, Alves proceeds by lamenting the way modern girls are taught by some Disney cartoons to dream about their Ms Right instead of Prince Charming who will come to the rescue of their better halves. Alves’ disappointment may indeed reflect the reality, as there has been discussion among the film’s production team about Queen Elsa “coming out” in this year’s sequel, slated to hit the screens soon.
Amid a distinct backlash, there were many who rose up in the Brazilian right-wingers’ defence, with one stating that what Alves’ critics were concerned about is the US multinational corporation’s "profits being hurt":
Many lashed out at Glenn for blackwashing the public figure, who merely expressed her point of view, with one suggesting she isn’t actually posing any danger to society:
“Some people believe homosexuality is more experimental than natural and children are impressionable”, one user, however, spoke in the minister’s defence.
Others, however, responded by picking up on Alves’ top-ranking governmental role, claiming that “the ministry for women, families and human rights” in Brazil country “is a really bad joke:”
Some netizens eagerly opted for light-hearted jokes on the subject, arguing that the whole story would make a nice sequel:
One even shared a friendly tip with Alves:
…while a couple of other Internet users sarcastically countered Alves’ rhetoric, arguing that she would be better off reconsidering her masculine "virtually lesbian" style, and getting a makeover:
A number of people were intrigued to observe what distances people’s thoughts travel to as they watch children’s movies, with one expressing certainty that Alves’ words are absolutely ungrounded:
Some abstained from bringing up moral issues, but went on to question whether there was a "gay kiss" at all in the Disney production:
In a tweet below the original, Greenwald linked the Brazilian minister’s train of thought with Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s stance on the LGBT community. He made a point reminding the public that he built his winning presidential campaign on “warning of the dangers LGBTs pose to schoolchildren”.