ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Ivan Coyote - Writer, performer
Ivan Coyote believes that a good story can help inspire us to invent a better future.

Why you should listen

Ivan Coyote was born and raised in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory. An award-winning author of eight collections of short stories, one novel, three CD’s, four short films and a renowned performer, Ivan’s first love is live storytelling. Over the last nineteen years, they have become an audience favorite at music, poetry, spoken word and writer’s festivals from Anchorage to Amsterdam.

Ivan began performing in 1992, and in 1996 co-founded Taste This, a four person performance troupe that combined live music, storytelling and performance poetry to create a text-driven genre-busting collaborative exchange. Taste This toured North America extensively and in 1998 the four artists published Boys Like Her, a critically acclaimed book that took the stage show to the printed page. Boys Like Her sold out three editions and continues to be considered a notable Canadian contribution to the dialogue around gender identity and sexuality.

Ivan teamed up with Arsenal Pulp Press in 2000, and has since released nine more books. Close to Spiderman (2000), One Man’s Trash (2002), Loose End (2005), Bow Grip (2006), The Slow Fix (2008), Missed Her (2010), Persistence: All Ways Butch and Femme (2011), One In Every Crowd (2012) and Gender Failure (2014). 

Ivan is still fascinated by the intersection of storytelling and music, and works with a number of well-established Canadian musicians, including pianist and composer Veda Hille, songwriter Dan Mangan, folk artist Rae Spoon, cellist Cris Derksen, and violinist Lyndell Montgomery. Ivan has released three CDs of storytelling with music, You’re A Nation (2003) and You Are Here (2007) and Only Two Reasons (2010).

In 2001 Ivan landed a little gig teaching short fiction at Capilano University in North Vancouver. This little night school class led to an accidental discovery: Ivan loves to teach creative writing. Coyote continued to teach short fiction and classes and workshops, and in 2007 was invited to become Carleton University’s writer-in-residence. While in Ottawa, Coyote taught a third year fiction class, and three memoir-writing classes for senior citizens. It was while teaching seniors that Ivan realized their true calling. Ivan strongly believes in listening to the stories of our elders, and encouraging them to write down their lives. 

Coyote has since been honoured to be the writer-in-residence at the Vancouver Public Library (2009), The Carol Shield’s writer-in-residence at the University of Winnipeg (2011) and the writer-in-residence at The University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario (2012). 

In addition to these literary and teaching accomplishments, Ivan continues to tour extensively throughout North America and Europe, telling stories not only to festival audiences but to high school students, social justice activists, adult literacy students and senior citizens all across the continent. Ivan believes in the transformative power of storytelling, and that collecting and remembering oral history not only preserves a vital part of our families and where we come from, but that a good story can help inspire us to invent a better future.

More profile about the speaker
Ivan Coyote | Speaker | TED.com
TEDxVancouver

Ivan Coyote: Why we need gender-neutral bathrooms

Ivan Coyote: Por que precisamos de banheiros de gênero neutro

Filmed:
1,688,171 views

Há algumas coisas das quais todos nós precisamos: ar fresco, água, comida, abrigo, amor... e um lugar seguro para fazer xixi. Para pessoas trans que não se encaixam no binário de gênero, banheiros públicos são uma grande fonte de ansiedade e é onde essas pessoas mais são questionadas ou assediadas. Nesta palestra poeticamente rítmica, Ivan Coyote lida com questões complexas e intensamente pessoais de identidade de gênero e destaca a necessidade de banheiros de gênero neutro em todos os espaços públicos.
- Writer, performer
Ivan Coyote believes that a good story can help inspire us to invent a better future. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:12
There are a few things
that all of us need.
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Há algumas coisas
das quais todos nós precisamos.
00:17
We all need air to breathe.
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Todos precisamos de ar para respirar.
00:21
We need clean water to drink.
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Precisamos de água limpa para beber.
Precisamos de comida para comer,
precisamos de abrigo e amor.
00:23
We need food to eat.
We need shelter and love.
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O amor é importante também.
00:26
You know. Love is great, too.
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00:30
And we all need a safe place to pee.
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E todos precisamos de um lugar
seguro para fazer xixi.
(Risos)
00:33
(Laughter) Yeah?
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Não é?
00:35
As a trans person who doesn't fit neatly
into the gender binary,
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Como uma pessoa trans que não
se encaixa no binário de gênero,
se eu pudesse mudar o mundo amanhã
00:39
if I could change the world tomorrow
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00:43
to make it easier for me to navigate,
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para torná-lo mais fácil para eu viver,
a primeira coisa que faria
seria, num passe de mágica,
00:45
the very first thing I would do
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00:47
is blink and create single stall,
gender-neutral bathrooms
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criar banheiros de gênero neutro
com cabines individuais
em todos os espaços públicos.
00:52
in all public places.
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(Aplausos)
00:54
(Applause)
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01:01
Trans people and trans issues,
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Pessoas trans e questões trans
têm ganhado bastante atenção
na mídia ultimamente.
01:03
they've been getting a lot
of mainstream media attention lately.
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Isso é ótimo e necessário,
01:07
And this is a great and necessary thing,
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mas a maior parte
dessa atenção está focada
01:10
but most of that attention
has been focused
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em algumas poucas pessoas,
01:12
on a very few individuals,
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a maioria ricas e bem famosas
01:15
most of whom are kinda rich
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01:17
and pretty famous,
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que não têm tanto com que se preocupar
mais com o lugar onde vão fazer xixi
01:19
and probably don't have to worry that much
anymore about where they're going to pee
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entre uma aula e outra na faculdade,
01:23
in between classes
at their community college,
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ou onde vão colocar a roupa
de ginástica na sua escola pública.
01:25
or where they're going to get changed
into their gym strip
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01:28
at their public high school.
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A fama e o dinheiro isolam
essas estrelas de televisão trans
01:29
Fame and money insulates
these television star trans people
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da maioria dos desafios diários
01:36
from most of the everyday challenges
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que o resto de nós precisa enfrentar.
01:39
that the rest of us
have to tackle on a daily basis.
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01:46
Public bathrooms.
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Banheiros públicos.
01:49
They've been a problem for me
since as far back as I can remember,
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Eles têm sido um problema
para mim desde sempre,
01:53
first when I was just a little baby tomboy
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primeiro quando eu era uma moleca
e depois como um organismo
de aparência masculina
01:57
and then later as a masculine-appearing,
predominantly estrogen-based organism.
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predominantemente baseado em estrogênio.
(Risos)
02:03
(Laughter)
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Hoje, como uma pessoa trans,
banheiros públicos e vestiários
02:04
Now, today as a trans person,
public bathrooms and change rooms
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são os lugares onde as pessoas
mais me questionam e assediam.
02:09
are where I am most likely
to be questioned or harassed.
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Já me atacaram verbalmente
dentro deles diversas vezes.
02:14
I've often been verbally
attacked behind their doors.
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Seguranças já me arrastaram para fora
com as calças ainda abaixadas.
02:17
I've been hauled out by security guards
with my pants still halfway pulled up.
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Já encararam, gritaram comigo,
sussurraram sobre mim,
02:22
I've been stared at,
screamed at, whispered about,
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02:24
and one time I got smacked in the face
by a little old lady's purse
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e uma vez uma senhorinha bateu
no meu rosto com a bolsa
que, pelo olho roxo que levei
para casa naquele dia,
02:29
that from the looks of the shiner
I took home that day
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02:32
I am pretty certain contained at least
70 dollars of rolled up small change
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tinha com certeza pelo menos
US$ 70 em rolos de moedas
e uma vasta coleção de balas duras.
02:35
and a large hard candy collection.
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02:37
(Laughter)
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(Risos)
02:40
And I know what some of you are thinking,
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Eu sei o que alguns de vocês
devem estar pensando,
02:44
and you're mostly right.
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e vocês estão certos.
02:47
I can and do just use the men's room
most of the time these days.
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Eu posso usar o banheiro masculino,
e uso mesmo, na maior parte do tempo.
02:54
But that doesn't solve
my change room dilemmas, does it?
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Mas isso não resolve meu problema
com os vestiários, não é?
E eu não deveria ter
que usar o banheiro masculino,
02:59
And I shouldn't have to use the men's room
because I'm not a man.
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porque eu não sou um homem.
Sou uma pessoa trans.
03:05
I'm a trans person.
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03:08
And now we've got
these fearmongering politicians
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E agora alguns políticos
que gostam de incitar o medo
estão tentando aprovar
leis sobre os banheiros.
03:12
that keep trying to pass
these bathroom bills.
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03:14
Have you heard about these?
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Ouviram falar disso?
03:15
They try to legislate
to try and force people like myself
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Estão tentando criar leis
para forçar pessoas como eu
a usar o banheiro
que eles consideram apropriado
03:18
to use the bathroom
that they deem most appropriate
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de acordo com o gênero
que me foi designado quando nasci.
03:23
according to the gender
I was assigned at birth.
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03:25
And if these politicians
ever get their way,
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E se esses políticos
conseguirem o que querem
no Arizona, na Califórnia ou na Flórida,
03:29
in Arizona or California or Florida
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03:32
or just last week in Houston, Texas,
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ou semana passada mesmo,
em Houston, Texas,
ou em Ottawa,
03:35
or Ottawa,
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03:36
well then, using the men's room
will not be a legal option for me either.
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usar o banheiro masculino também
não será uma opção legal para mim.
03:43
And every time one of these politicians
brings one of these bills to the table,
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E toda vez que algum desses políticos
propõe uma lei dessas,
03:47
I can't help but wonder, you know,
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eu me pergunto
como se aplicaria uma lei dessas,
e quem a aplicaria, sabe?
03:49
just who will and exactly how would we
go about enforcing laws like these. Right?
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03:56
Panty checks?
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Verificação de calcinhas? Sério.
03:57
Really.
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03:59
Genital inspections outside
of bath change rooms at public pools?
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Inspeções genitais na porta dos banheiros
e vestiários das piscinas públicas?
Não há maneira legal, ética ou plausível
04:06
There's no legal
or ethical or plausible way
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de se aplicar leis como essas,
de qualquer maneira.
04:10
to enforce laws like these anyway.
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04:14
They exist only to foster fear
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Elas só existem para incitar medo
e promover a transfobia.
04:17
and promote transphobia.
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04:21
They don't make anyone safer.
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Elas não trazem mais segurança a ninguém.
Mas elas tornam o mundo mais perigoso
para alguns de nós, com certeza.
04:24
But they do for sure make the world
more dangerous for some of us.
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04:28
And meanwhile, our trans children suffer.
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Enquanto isso, nossas
crianças trans sofrem.
Elas abandonam a escola,
ou desistem da vida.
04:31
They drop out of school,
or they opt out of life altogether.
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Pessoas trans, principalmente
jovens trans e de gênero não conformativo
04:36
Trans people, especially trans
and gender-nonconforming youth
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enfrentam desafios adicionais
quando vão a piscinas e academias,
04:41
face additional challenges
when accessing pools and gyms,
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mas também a universidades,
hospitais, bibliotecas.
04:45
but also universities,
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04:48
hospitals, libraries.
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Sem falar sobre como somos
tratados em aeroportos.
04:52
Don't even get me started
on how they treat us in airports.
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04:57
If we don't move now
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Se não nos esforçarmos agora
para nos certificarmos
de que esses lugares
05:00
to make sure that these places
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05:03
are truly open and accessible to everyone,
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são abertos e acessíveis
a todos de verdade,
05:06
then we just need to get honest
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então precisamos ser honestos
e parar de chamá-los de lugares públicos.
05:09
and quit calling them public places.
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05:13
We need to just admit
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Precisamos admitir
que eles, na verdade,
são abertos somente para pessoas
05:16
that they are really only open for people
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05:19
who fit neatly
into one of two gender boxes,
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que se encaixam perfeitamente
em um entre dois esteriótipos de gênero,
05:25
which I do not.
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e eu não me encaixo.
05:28
I never have.
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Nunca me encaixei.
05:32
And this starts very early.
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E isso começa muito cedo.
05:35
I know a little girl.
She's the daughter of a friend of mine.
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Eu conheço uma garotinha,
ela é filha de uma amiga minha.
05:39
She's a self-identified tomboy.
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Ela se identifica como uma moleca.
Ela usa botas de caubói,
05:42
I'm talking about cowboy boots
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05:44
and Caterpillar yellow toy trucks
and bug jars, the whole nine yards.
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tem caminhões de brinquedo,
potes com insetos e tudo o mais.
Um dia eu perguntei
qual era a sua cor preferida,
05:49
One time I asked her
what her favorite color was.
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ela me disse "camuflagem".
05:52
She told me, "Camouflage."
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(Risos)
05:54
(Laughter)
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05:57
So that awesome little kid,
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Então essa criança incrível
voltou da escola outubro passado,
05:59
she came home from school last October
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de seu meio período na pré-escola,
06:02
from her half day of preschool
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com as calças encharcadas
porque as crianças zombaram dela
06:04
with soggy pants on because the other kids
at school were harassing her
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quando ela tentou
usar o banheiro feminino.
06:09
when she tried to use the girls' bathroom.
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E o professor já tinha dito que ela
não devia usar o banheiro masculino.
06:12
And the teacher had already instructed her
to stay out of the boys' bathroom.
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E ela tinha bebido dois copos
daquele suco vermelho
06:17
And she had drank two glasses
of that red juice
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na festa de Halloween,
06:20
at the Halloween party,
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06:22
and I mean, who can resist
that red juice, right? It's so good.
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e quem consegue resistir
àquele suco? Ele é tão bom.
06:27
And she couldn't hold her pee any longer.
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E ela não conseguiu mais segurar o xixi.
Ela e seus colegas de classe
tinham quatro anos de idade.
06:31
Her and her classmates
were four years old.
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Eles já se sentiram capacitados
06:34
They already felt empowered enough
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para policiar o seu uso
dos ditos banheiros públicos.
06:37
to police her use
of the so-called public bathrooms.
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06:44
She was four years old.
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Ela tinha quatro anos,
06:45
She had already been taught
the brutal lesson
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e já havia aprendido a dura lição
de que não existia um banheiro na escola
06:48
that there was
no bathroom door at preschool
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06:53
with a sign on it
that welcomed people like her.
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com uma placa na porta
que acolhesse pessoas como ela.
06:58
She'd already learned that bathrooms
were going to be a problem,
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Ela já havia aprendido
que banheiros seriam um problema,
07:02
and that problem started with her
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e que o problema começava com ela
07:06
and was hers alone.
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e era só dela.
07:10
So my friend asked me
to talk to her little daughter,
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Então minha amiga me pediu
para conversar com a filha dela,
e eu conversei.
07:14
and I did.
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07:16
I wanted to tell her
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Eu queria dizer a ela
que eu e a mãe dela iríamos até lá
e conversaríamos com a escola
07:19
that me and her mom
were going to march on down
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07:21
and talk to that school,
and the problem was going to go away,
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e o problema desapareceria,
mas eu sabia que não era verdade.
07:24
but I knew that wasn't true.
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07:25
I wanted to tell her that it was all
going to get better when she got older,
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Eu queria dizer que tudo iria melhorar
quando ela ficasse mais velha,
mas eu não podia.
07:29
but I couldn't.
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07:32
So I asked her to tell me
the story of what had happened,
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Então eu pedi que ela me contasse
como tudo aconteceu,
07:37
asked her to tell me how it made her feel.
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e pedi que ela me contasse
como ela se sentiu.
07:41
"Mad and sad,"
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"Brava e triste", ela me disse.
07:44
she told me.
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07:46
So I told her
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Então eu disse a ela
que ela não estava sozinha,
07:48
that she wasn't alone
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07:51
and that it wasn't right
what had happened to her,
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e que o que aconteceu
com ela não foi certo,
e aí ela perguntou se eu
já tinha feito xixi nas calças.
07:53
and then she asked me
if I had ever peed in my pants before.
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Eu disse que sim,
07:59
I said yes, I had,
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mas que já fazia tempo.
08:01
but not for a really long time.
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08:03
(Laughter)
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(Risos)
Era mentira, claro,
08:04
Which of course was a lie,
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porque quando a gente chega
aos 42 ou 43 anos,
08:07
because you know
how you hit, like, 42 or 43,
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08:09
and sometimes you just,
I don't know, you pee a little bit
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às vezes a gente faz um pouco
de xixi quando tosse ou espirra,
08:12
when you cough or sneeze,
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08:14
when you're running upstairs,
or you're stretching.
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subindo as escadas,
ou se espreguiçando.
Não mintam.
08:17
Don't lie.
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08:18
It happens. Right?
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Acontece, não é?
Achei que ela não precisava saber disso.
08:20
She doesn't need to know that, I figure.
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(Risos)
08:22
(Laughter)
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Eu disse: "Quando você crescer,
sua bexiga vai crescer também.
08:25
I told her, when you get older,
your bladder is going to grow bigger, too.
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08:31
When you get old like me,
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Quando você tiver a minha idade, vai
conseguir segurar o xixi por mais tempo",
08:32
you're going to be able
to hold your pee for way longer,
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eu prometi a ela.
08:36
I promised her.
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08:39
"Until you can get home?"
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"Até chegar em casa?"
08:42
she asked me.
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ela perguntou.
08:44
I said, "Yes,
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Eu disse: "Sim,
08:48
until you can get home."
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até você chegar em casa".
08:52
She seemed to take some comfort in that.
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Isso pareceu consolá-la.
08:58
So let's just build some single stall,
gender-neutral bathrooms
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Então, vamos construir banheiros
de gênero neutro com cabines individuais,
09:04
with a little bench for getting changed
into your gym clothes.
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com um banquinho para vestir
suas roupas de ginástica.
Não podemos mudar o mundo
de um dia para o outro
09:08
We can't change the world overnight
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09:12
for our children,
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para nossas crianças,
09:13
but we can give them
a safe and private place
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mas podemos dar a elas um lugar seguro
e privado para fugir desse mundo,
09:16
to escape that world,
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mesmo que seja apenas por um minuto.
09:17
if only for just a minute.
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09:22
This we can do.
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Isso nós podemos fazer.
09:25
So let's just do it.
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Então vamos fazer.
09:27
And if you are one of those people
who is sitting out there right now
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E se você for uma dessas pessoas
que estão sentadas aí agora
09:31
already coming up with a list of reasons
in your head why this is not a priority,
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criando uma lista de razões para explicar
por que isso não é uma prioridade,
ou é muito caro,
09:35
or it's too expensive,
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09:37
or telling yourself that giving
a trans person a safe place to pee
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ou acha que fornecer um lugar seguro
para uma pessoa trans fazer xixi
ou se trocar
09:41
or get changed in
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09:42
supports a lifestyle choice
that you feel offends your morality,
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é apoiar um estilo de vida que você
pensa ofender sua moralidade,
sua masculinidade,
09:48
or your masculinity,
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ou suas crenças religiosas,
09:50
or your religious beliefs,
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09:52
then let me just appeal
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então deixe-me apelar
à parte do seu coração
09:54
to the part of your heart
that probably, hopefully,
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que, espero, provavelmente
se importa com o resto da população.
09:59
does care about
the rest of the population.
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10:03
If you can't bring yourself
to care enough about people like me,
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Se você não consegue
se importar com pessoas como eu,
e quanto às mulheres e meninas
que têm problemas com sua imagem corporal?
10:09
then what about women and girls
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10:12
with body image issues?
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10:14
What about anyone
with body image stuff going on?
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E qualquer outra pessoa que tem
problemas com imagem corporal?
10:19
What about that boy at school
who is a foot shorter than his classmates,
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E aquele menino na escola que tem
30 centímetros a menos que seus colegas,
e que ainda tem a voz fina? E aí?
10:25
whose voice still hasn't dropped yet? Hey?
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"Oh, oitava série, que professor
cruel você pode ser."
10:28
Oh, grade eight,
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1936
10:30
what a cruel master you can be.
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Não é?
10:34
Right?
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10:35
What about people with anxiety issues?
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E as pessoas com problemas de ansiedade?
10:39
What about people with disabilities
or who need assistance in there?
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E as pessoas com deficiências,
que precisam de ajuda no banheiro?
E as pessoas cujos corpos,
por qualquer que seja o motivo,
10:43
What about folks with bodies
who, for whatever reason,
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10:47
don't fit into the mainstream idea
of what a body should look like?
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não se encaixam na ideia geral
de como um corpo deve parecer?
Quantos de nós ainda temos vergonha
10:51
How many of us still feel shy
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10:54
or afraid to disrobe
in front of our peers,
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ou medo de nos despir
na frente de nossos colegas,
10:58
and how many of us allow that fear
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e quantos de nós permitem que esse medo
11:00
to keep us from something as important
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nos impeça de fazer algo tão importante
11:04
as physical exercise?
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quanto o exercício físico?
11:09
Would all those people not benefit
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Será que essas pessoas
não se beneficiariam
11:12
from these single stall facilities?
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desses banheiros com cabines individuais?
11:17
We can't change
transphobic minds overnight,
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Não podemos mudar ideias
transfóbicas de um dia para o outro,
11:23
but we can give everybody
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mas podemos dar a todos
um lugar para se trocar
11:26
a place to get changed in
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11:30
so that we can all get to work
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2000
para que possamos começar a trabalhar
11:33
making the world safer
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para tornar o mundo mais seguro
11:36
for all of us.
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para todos nós.
Obrigado por me ouvirem.
11:39
Thank you for listening.
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11:40
(Applause)
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(Aplausos)
Obrigado.
11:43
Thank you.
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11:44
(Applause)
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(Aplausos)
Translated by Ana Almeida
Reviewed by Maricene Crus

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Ivan Coyote - Writer, performer
Ivan Coyote believes that a good story can help inspire us to invent a better future.

Why you should listen

Ivan Coyote was born and raised in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory. An award-winning author of eight collections of short stories, one novel, three CD’s, four short films and a renowned performer, Ivan’s first love is live storytelling. Over the last nineteen years, they have become an audience favorite at music, poetry, spoken word and writer’s festivals from Anchorage to Amsterdam.

Ivan began performing in 1992, and in 1996 co-founded Taste This, a four person performance troupe that combined live music, storytelling and performance poetry to create a text-driven genre-busting collaborative exchange. Taste This toured North America extensively and in 1998 the four artists published Boys Like Her, a critically acclaimed book that took the stage show to the printed page. Boys Like Her sold out three editions and continues to be considered a notable Canadian contribution to the dialogue around gender identity and sexuality.

Ivan teamed up with Arsenal Pulp Press in 2000, and has since released nine more books. Close to Spiderman (2000), One Man’s Trash (2002), Loose End (2005), Bow Grip (2006), The Slow Fix (2008), Missed Her (2010), Persistence: All Ways Butch and Femme (2011), One In Every Crowd (2012) and Gender Failure (2014). 

Ivan is still fascinated by the intersection of storytelling and music, and works with a number of well-established Canadian musicians, including pianist and composer Veda Hille, songwriter Dan Mangan, folk artist Rae Spoon, cellist Cris Derksen, and violinist Lyndell Montgomery. Ivan has released three CDs of storytelling with music, You’re A Nation (2003) and You Are Here (2007) and Only Two Reasons (2010).

In 2001 Ivan landed a little gig teaching short fiction at Capilano University in North Vancouver. This little night school class led to an accidental discovery: Ivan loves to teach creative writing. Coyote continued to teach short fiction and classes and workshops, and in 2007 was invited to become Carleton University’s writer-in-residence. While in Ottawa, Coyote taught a third year fiction class, and three memoir-writing classes for senior citizens. It was while teaching seniors that Ivan realized their true calling. Ivan strongly believes in listening to the stories of our elders, and encouraging them to write down their lives. 

Coyote has since been honoured to be the writer-in-residence at the Vancouver Public Library (2009), The Carol Shield’s writer-in-residence at the University of Winnipeg (2011) and the writer-in-residence at The University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario (2012). 

In addition to these literary and teaching accomplishments, Ivan continues to tour extensively throughout North America and Europe, telling stories not only to festival audiences but to high school students, social justice activists, adult literacy students and senior citizens all across the continent. Ivan believes in the transformative power of storytelling, and that collecting and remembering oral history not only preserves a vital part of our families and where we come from, but that a good story can help inspire us to invent a better future.

More profile about the speaker
Ivan Coyote | Speaker | TED.com

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