Neon Cunha

Neon Cunha
Born (1970-01-24) January 24, 1970 (age 56)
Belo Horizonte, Brazil
Occupations
  • Activist
  • Politician
HonoursTheodosina Ribeiro Medal

Neon dos Afonso Cunha (Belo Horizonte, January 24, 1970), better known as Neon Cunha, is a Brazilian politician and activist for Black and LGBTQ rights. She became notable for being the first transgender person in Brazil to rectify her documents without the need for medical reports. She is also known for being one of the survivors of Operation Tarantula.

Biography

Youth and education

Born in Belo Horizonte, Neon is the daughter of domestic worker Salete dos Afonso Cunha and metalworker Odilon Domingos da Cunha, and the third of ten siblings, including two adopted children. Due to her father's profession, the whole family moved to São Bernardo do Campo in the ABC Paulista region when she was two-years-old. She graduated in advertising and fine arts and pursued a career as a civil servant in the São Bernardo do Campo City Hall, where she still works today. Neon Cunha realized she was transgender in childhood.

Activism

"Agora eu posso existir" (English: Now I can exist) – Neon Cunha’s story, documented by the Museu da Pessoa (2020)

In 2014, when she was forty-five-years-old, Neon filed a lawsuit seeking to rectify the gender on her documentation. At the time, the Brazilian government required a medical report proving the transsexuality of those seeking to change their documents. To obtain this, individuals had to undergo medical and judicial evaluations. Neon refused the medical evaluation, believing that her identity is not a pathology. The issue of waiving medical reports had almost never been litigated before her case.

Due to delays in the legal process, in 2016 Neon requested assisted suicide from the Organization of American States (OAS) if her gender and identity were not recognized by the Brazilian government. She was the first trans woman to speak in person at the OAS, and she did so at the invitation of Geledés - Black Women's Institute.

On October 31, 2016, Judge Celso Lourenço Morgado, of the 6th Civil Court of São Bernardo do Campo, granted the request for a change of gender and name. In the ruling, he stated: "Transsexuality is not a pathological condition and gender identity is self-defined by the person". The decision served as a precedent for the Supreme Federal Court to authorize the rectification of documents by gender self-identification in March 2018.

Awards

In 2019, she received the Theodosina Ribeiro Medal from the Legislative Assembly of the State of São Paulo, an award given to women who have distinguished themselves in society.

Political activity

In 2022 she ran for state representative for the state of São Paulo and received 35,111 votes. In 2024 she ran for city councilor for the city of São Paulo, but was not elected.

References

  1. ↑ "Neon Cunha". Memorial da Resistência (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved January 8, 2026.
  2. ↑ Garcia, Gabryella (August 25, 2022). "Neon Cunha: 'Não nos interessa apenas inclusão, queremos pertencimento'" [Neon Cunha: 'We are not only interested in inclusion, we want belonging']. Marie Claire (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved January 8, 2026.
  3. ↑ Felitti, Chico (October 31, 2016). "Pela primeira vez, mulher trans pode mudar gênero sem avaliação médica" [For the first time, a transgender woman can change her gender without a medical evaluation]. Folha de S.Paulo (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved January 8, 2026.
  4. ↑ Batista Jr., João (February 3, 2022). "À margem da margem" [On the edge of the edge]. Revista Piauí (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved January 8, 2026.
  5. ↑ Garcia, Amanda (March 2, 2023). "Sobrevivente da Operação Tarântula lembra perseguição a travestis: "Pânico"" [Survivor of Operation Tarantula recalls persecution of travestis: "Panic"]. CNN Brasil (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved January 8, 2026.
  6. 1 2 Felitti, Chico (July 30, 2016). "Transexual pede morte assistida se não puder mudar nome e gênero" [Transgender woman requests assisted suicide if they cannot change their name and gender]. Folha de S.Paulo. Retrieved January 8, 2026.
  7. ↑ Neon Cunha luta para ser reconhecida como mulher [Neon Cunha fights to be recognized as a woman] (in Brazilian Portuguese). October 3, 2017. Retrieved January 8, 2026 – via TV Brasil.
  8. ↑ Iotti, Paulo (March 3, 2018). "Opinião – Paulo Iotti: "Julgamento de STF sobre registro de pessoas trans foi histórico"" [Opinion – Paulo Iotti: “Supreme Court ruling on the registration of transgender people was historic”]. Fecom Bahia (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved January 8, 2026.
  9. ↑ Garcia, Gabryella. "Pelo direito de existir: Ao pedir direito à morte assistida, Neon Cunha entrou para história e mudou a vida de mulheres trans do Brasil" [For the right to exist: By requesting the right to assisted death, Neon Cunha made history and changed the lives of transgender women in Brazil]. Universo Online (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved January 8, 2026.
  10. ↑ Santos, Jessica (March 2, 2021). "Neon Cunha, ativista trans: 'Lembro de gente morta com tiro na testa, com a cabeça debaixo de coturno de policial'" [Neon Cunha, trans activist: 'I remember people killed with a bullet in their forehead, their heads buried under police boots']. Ponte Jornalismo (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved January 8, 2026.
  11. ↑ "DJSP 31/10/2016 - Pg. 1171 - Judicial - 1ª Instância - Interior - Parte Iii | Diário de Justiça do Estado de São Paulo | Diários Jusbrasil". Jusbrasil (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved January 6, 2026.
  12. ↑ "Primeira trans do Brasil a mudar nome e gênero sem cirurgia, Neon Cunha estará no I Mutirão de retificação da DPCE; palestra é aberta ao público" [Neon Cunha, the first transgender woman in Brazil to change her name and gender without surgery, will be at the 1st DPCE Rectification Campaign; the lecture is open to the public]. Defensoria Pública do Estado do Ceará (in Brazilian Portuguese). June 24, 2024. Archived from the original on August 3, 2024. Retrieved January 8, 2026.
  13. ↑ "STF reconhece a transgêneros possibilidade de alteração de registro civil sem mudança de sexo" [Supreme Court recognizes the possibility for transgender individuals to change their civil registry without changing their sex]. Supreme Federal Court (in Brazilian Portuguese). March 1, 2018. Archived from the original on April 9, 2018. Retrieved January 6, 2026.
  14. ↑ "Medalha Theodosina Ribeiro homenageia 16 mulheres" [Theodosina Ribeiro Medal honors 16 women]. Legislative Assembly of São Paulo (in Brazilian Portuguese). March 11, 2019. Retrieved January 8, 2026.
  15. ↑ Rosalin, Gabriel (October 23, 2023). "Neon estuda candidatura a vereadora na Capital" [Neon is considering running for city council in the capital]. Jornal Diário do Grande ABC (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved January 8, 2026.
  16. ↑ "Eleições 2022: Neon Cunha - PSOL | Ficha do candidato" [2022 Elections: Neon Cunha - PSOL | Candidate Profile]. Folha de S.Paulo (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved January 8, 2026.