Rosely Roth

Rosely Roth (São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil, August 21, 1959 – São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil, August 28, 1990) is considered one of the pioneers in the history of the LGBT movement of Brazil (known in Portuguese as the "Movimento Homossexual Brasileiro").

Born of Jewish parents, she attended both Jewish and non-Jewish schools while growing up in her native São Paulo. In 1981 she obtained a degree in Philosophy from the "Pontífica Universidade Católica de São Paulo"; and in 1985-1986 she graduated again from the same university with a degree in Anthropology, having dedicated her studies on lesbian life and sexuality in São Paulo.

Roth started her direct participation in the women's movement at the start of 1981 by attending meetings at the "Grupo Lésbico Feminista" (1979-1990) and at the "SOS Mulher" (1980-1993).

Still in 1981, Roth and Miriam Martinho, another pioneer of the Brazilian LGBT movement, founded the "Grupo Ação Lésbica-Feminista" - "GALF" (1981-1990) in São Paulo.

Roth was involved in many organizations and activities demanding sexual freedom and equal rights for lesbians and all members of the LGBT community during most of her adult life. She was particularly active in bringing visibility to related issues in the local and national media when the LGBT movement was still in its infancy in Brazil.

In the last phase of Roth's life, she started to suffer from what has been described as deep emotional problems. As a consequence, it is believed that her health condition led her to commit suicide.

The "Dia Nacional do Orgulho Lésbico," a national day of lesbian pride, celebrated annually throughout Brazil on August 19th, since 2003, has been established in her honor.

References

* [http://www.fchf.ufg.br/pos-sociologia/dissert/Michele.pdf O Movimento Homossexual Brasileiro...] by Michele Cunha Franco Conde (In Portuguese).

* [http://www.umoutroolhar.com.br/rosely.htm Um outro olhar: Rosely Roth] by Miriam Martinho (In Portuguese).

* [http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?pid=S0104-026X2004000300004&script=sci_arttext Brazilian feminist press after-1974] by Elizabeth Cardoso. SCIELO: Rev. Estud. Fem. vol.12 no.spe Florianópolis Sept./Dec. 2004 (In Portuguese with abstract in English).

* [http://brazine.de/artikel.asp?rubrik=gemeinschaft&artikel=%7B3299CE56-378F-434E-BB56-12DDF81936ED%7D BRASINE: Brasileiras que fizeram historia] by Mídia Brasileira para a Alemanha, Áustria e Suíça/Brasilianische Medien für Deutschland, Österreich und Schweiz (In Portuguese and German).