Gay Brazilian Couple Strips Naked in Sao Paulo Street to Protest Homophobia

Photography by Fábio Lamounier + Rodrigo Ladeira

A statement by the photographers at Chicos.cc explains the concept:

"Of all the countless times I’ve been to São Paulo, I've never skipped visiting the bright and grand Paulista Avenue. The biggest symbol of the city — as well as the scene of several activist marches and conservative attacks. The place where the huge buildings share space with the little businessmen. The city owns the traffic that we now see in all other major cities, but also the living beings that walk through its streets at their own time. The avenue is under a pendulum between those opposites. Of all those countless times, however, today was my only and first time I’ve witnessed this avenue outside the mightiness it carries: fragile, empty and cold — and, because of this, so human.

"Felippe and Marlon, with just their adrenaline and courage, had the idea for this photo shoot. This same adrenaline that covers our faces, shakes our hands and dilates time — those little seconds becomes frighteningly and excitingly endless. The few eyes wandering by the street multiply quickly , as well as the fear and sweat. We’ve made, in so little time, a shoot of a symbolic act but, most importantly, a free act.

"Being naked at the avenue shows off their own and also the city's vulnerability: We have to be utopian and rethink a city naked of its prejudices, lovable even under the gray sky; complete just because of the differences, and respectful because of the diversity. It will happen one day. But the patience also dilates time: maybe tomorrow, who knows, days are no longer utopian, but just real."

See more of the NSFW photos here.