well, everyone is entitled to his own opinion, isn't he? surely she has a reason for saying that and I belive we have to respect that...

Wasn't one of her former husbands rumored to be gay? If that was true, and he screwed her over, it might explain her attitude. (Of course, basing your opinion on a whole group of people based on the actions of one person who screwed you over sucks.)

normal to a brasilian head !
all girls here think the same !
it will be change soon ....
i hope

Meu inglês nao é dos melhores e se alguém puder traduzir para mim, agradeço. Acho a Isabeli uma modelo deslumbrante, versatil; realmente incrivel. Mas é fato que ela é, simplesmente,burra. Quem se lembra do VMAS no qual ela disse duas vezes: "Estamos aqui muito feliz". Ela nao foi pra escola e é do tipo de modelo que nao sabe dar opiniao simplesmente porque nao as tem. Nao é uma Iman, uma Kate Moss...ta longe. Esse deslize dela foi feio. Pelo jeito, pra ela amigo gay deve ser tipo um poodle.

Isn't it only natural to want to protect your children? Yes, there is no longer a stigma to being gay in most of the Western World but there is still a lot of Homophobia around - I think people should lay off her, she's a great Mother & a great person.

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well, honey, most models aren't that bright
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and they really aren't supposed to be talking
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I agree that everybody is entitled to have a opnion, for sure.

And as a matter of fact, being a gay guy and all, I agree with her, and everything she said.

Most mothers (if not all) would not like to have a gay son. Think about your mothers for a second. As she said, they try to understand and acept, but it is not something they would expect and cheer at first place.

It is not about love or understanding, it is about expectations.

It IS as simple as that.

hey, i disagree that brazilian girls think like that. completely the opposite, tolerance is growing in a way it never did it before in Brazil! We still have a lot of things to improve with tolerance, but comparing to the rest of the world we are an incredibly tolerant people. And this declaration was very unfortunate, to be honest I was very disappointed with Isabeli!! I am sure she's the exception and not the rule.

I want to see if this statment affects her carrer.

kind of reminds me the Cher E! true hollywood story, when Cher tolds the camere how she felt like a terrible mother when she knew that her daugther is a lesbian...and Cher is a gay icon.
Any mother expect to have straight kids who will grown up marry some nice girl have kids...it's normal that a mother feel that way,but she's not even a mother of a gay son yet...so she should be more political about it,it was a t.v interview!

if her point was that there is greater concern for the safety and welfare of a gay child and in the interest of protecting children from harm, i'd understand the remarks. however, it doesn't quite come across that way.

That's funny, the girl can't even give a good reason for her statement.

Let's wait and see her future statements on "I didn't mean that" when people start boycotting her, which I REALLY hope that happens.

She's a model. And we all know that the industry is mainly made by GAY men, sponsored and kept by gay artists, focusing on both gay and straight market. And we also know that selling the bad fish is not good for the business.

There are so many other gay-friendly female top models. We do not need her.

I wonder if people (especially gay people) will keep wanting to see her on magazines, or even gay artists will keep on hiiring her. Because, at the end of the day, it will be the gay industry that will allow her to raise her child, who is likely to be a homophobe.

What a good example you are, Isabeli.

To respond to those that think her career might be in danger of being over. If Not all but the most important fashion magazines editors are WOMEN, and look at the crowd at Chanel today. only 25 percent of the attendee's were men. I dont think gay men rule fashion, maybe they rule "men's" fashion but not women. Her comments were blown out of proportion. Everyone gay male has to remember the moment they came out to there mother. I'm sure it was difficult, but with time and understand, it doesnt matter.

I suspect that it is precisely because Isabeli knows so many gay men that she made her statement. Many of these men have probably confided in her about the suffering they experienced because of their sexual preferences and because so many gay men grow up feeling different from the boys who end up heterosexual. By working in the fashion industry she may be in a position to know what she is talking about. Despite the presence of so many gay men behind the camera in the fashion industry, many of these gay men are often in the closet or feel that they should play down their sexuality? Why? Because they are well-aware that the general public is still not as cool with homosexuality as they like to pretend to be, political corrictness, and gay pride marches nothwithstanding. At schools in big urban cities across the western world, gay boys are still teased and get beaten up. Parents, especially fathers, are still upset when a son does not follow the normal code of behaviour for a boy,especially if that boy is effeminate. In the regular world many gay men complain of being isolated at their jobs because they are gay. As for male models, ever since the early to mid eighties the fashion industry has loudly insisted that most male models are straight but that has always been questionable to me. Why do people insist on this? Because they are aware that homophobia is very much alive, and they know that openly and obviously gay male models will discourage straight men from taking an interest in fashion and male models, and even so it is still difficult to get this group to take an open interest in fashion and male models.
Frankly I often think that gay men are superior to straight men, at least in terms of overall personality, charm, intelligence, talents, intersts, and yes looks, but the general public still feels that gay men are inferior by virtue of their sexual preference.
As for the idea that one of her husbands was gay(Alvaro Jacomossi, Henri Castelli?)and that messed her up and made her say what she said, I don't believe that.
I think she is great and may admiration for her hasn't changed. I'm only worried about how some people will react. I would never be narrow-minded enough, ironically, given that Isabeli is being accused of being narrow-minded, to imply that she and other models are stupid, or wish that she were boycotted from the industry, her vast accomplishment belittled, as a result of not liking her opinion. Some people need to grow up.

agree with u, Mr. Made In Brazil...

somebody should had told her that gay guys are the one who hire her for the fashion shows...

Boycott this shit-head!

well Leigh she's not even mother of a gay child,she's not KATE MOSS,she's just stupid to say it in t.v...i don't think that nobody boycott her career..well yes...she's boyctoting her own career .if u think that gay guys spend our life in sufering cause we r not straight u r as stupid as her...only that your comment is actually more homophobic! cause those r the reasons that keep homophobia alive...actually what Leigh is saying in her comment is almost the same things that homophobic people use as facts against same sex couples adopting childrens!!!!!

She says "I love gays" but she does not want one in her family..if this isn't prejudice, what is it? Isabeli is a great model and a beauty but her comment (not only the words, but as well the tone she uses) shows really how she feels about it - a typical small town girl full of prejudice thinking that is really surprising in a model that has traveled around the world and worked with a lot of gay people. Shame on her!

I will take her side on this(just because I love her:p), and defend her comment about gay facing prejudice. I'm sure she meant that she didn't want her son(s) to go through that. Man is there ever a stigma on being gay. It's almost taboo. There are a lot of gays out there who are afraid to come out because of what awaits on the other side, but it's unfair to live your life that way. I'd rather be hated for who I am than loved for what I'm not, and I'm not naive enough to believe that a personality is going to magically ease everyone's views. I think Isabeli is just trying to be cautious in the sense that she wants the society's view of a 'normal' life for her sons. If I recalll from a video, she said she wanted her son to be actor or singer. Their popularity will wane in the public eye if they are gay, which is unfortunate.

It's most definitely ashame that we live in a world that doesn't love all it's people, or refuses to understand what's going on, but if we want to survive we need to jump those hurdles as much as we can.

A comment like this one is as bad as the model line. Did you ever interview all Brazilian girls to write down this strong opinion? Or are just you saying based on your girlfriends and people that you know?
To be respected, we must respect!

Quoting:
Posted by: S | 07/02/2008 at 08:23 AM
normal to a brasilian head !
all girls here think the same !
it will be change soon ....
i hope

Regardless of whether she's homophobic or not, it's understandable that a mother would not want their son to be part of a group that is especially discriminated against, if only so her son would not have to suffer.

what's all the fuzz about?
a model is a model, whether we like it or not.
they are famous for what the look like not for what comes out of their mouths!
i'm forseeing that her future in fashion is over over over.
i mean if i was a designer i wouldn't book her. simple as that!

Well, because you are entitled to have an opinion does not mean that just in case it is carried with any form of discrimination it should be accepted. That is her opinion. She has the right to have it, however it is clearly a homophobic one! Period.

Freedom of speech, nor freedom of religion either should ever impose its absolutism in detrimental of an agreement in which there is not a balance between the one's right to have an opinion, and the one's right to be treated equally, particularly in a secular state. What does the opposite mean being libertarian? No, thanks!

Therefore, homosexuals in Brazil have all the right to feel ostracised by her opinion.

That shows she probably does not know quite much about real daily gay people other than stereotypical prejudices perhaps bound to the limited group of homosexuals she is more used to deal with in her own tiny micro cosmos, even though she should have known better that people should be respected for what they are regardless of any stereotypes.

I see nothing wrong with her honesty. She has gay friends so she knows that growing up gay is tough.. why wish that on your child? Im gay and everyday I have to deal with prejedice, and hate.. If I had a child, I wouldnt wish it to be gay either.. Whats wrong with wanting ur child to have an easier life, without having to go thru the pain of growing up gay?? She did say that if she indeed has a gay child that she would try to undertand and accept it..

My point here is: when you have many gay friends and you know the struggles they go through, you don't go on national TV and blatantly say that you don't want a gay son. That only makes her friends have to struggle even more. You can easily go around the question and say that it wouldn't matter to you, and that you would love your kids anyway, but that you do know that it would be a difficult path.

It's funny. Many people here are condemning her narrow mindedness yet they are the ones been narrow minded - Seriously, most of you are sinking with those enormous chips on your shoulders! Being gay is not a walk in the park & as a Mother it's natural that you want to protect your child/ren from any harm - whether verbal or physical - I think she is only expressing what 99% of Mothers out there would say.

To the owner of the Made in Brazil blog i just want to tell it that i really love your blog i read it every day and recomended to all my friends here in México...this is actually my third comment about the Isabeli Fontana issue,im sorry about that is just that it really make mad how gay people always choose to be victims, instead of fight against predjuice,many gay people not only don't fight against homophobia(im sure wasn't Isabeli Intention but she say it anyway) many gay guys have so low self steem,they belive this predjuices and that even justify this kind of behaivor :

"Im gay and everyday I have to deal with prejedice, and hate.. If I had a child, I wouldnt wish it to be gay either.. Whats wrong with wanting ur child to have an easier life"

"being gay is not a walk in the park & as a Mother it's natural that you want to protect your child/ren from any harm"

"I see nothing wrong with her honesty. She has gay friends so she knows that growing up gay is tough.. why wish that on your child? Im gay and everyday I have to deal with prejedice, and hate"

"I think she is only expressing what 99% of Mothers out there would say"

All this is very real and in some other nations is even worse ,but as i said before this kind of reactions of triying to covering an homophobic comment or act, r the thing that the same gay persons do to keep homophobia alive,those actitudes about gay people sufering for hate and predjuice im sorry but r caused for the same gay people who don't do anything about it,if you defend the person who is ataccking you instead of some kind of complan then u r allow that behaivor,im not saying let's bashing Isabeli or let's boycott her career!(she is a beauty and a good model even the way she thinks)...but let's admit that what she said was wrong,it dosn't matter if what she said is:"what 99% of Mothers out there would say" cause first: that's an excuse people need to open their minds if the 99% of the mothers beat to death their gay childrens or chinese mothers still murder their newborns babys only for being girls that makes it ok? i wonder if maybe we the gay people try to create a culture about how many of us r and how the most r like any other person,with normal jobs,life and relationships in a future the 99% of the mothers wouldn't say that about having a gay kid...actually here in México a friend who works on a anti-hate crimes organization,make that same question to diferent women from 18-40 years old, and the 75% would be agree to have a gay boy like something more normal(even that my country is very Catholic and narrow minded for many things).
second:Cause she's an international non into politics personality and have a responsability to the audience(including gay people)

Thanks to Made in Brazil to allow me a third comment ;)

That´s what most of the people think. It is an ignorant thought, but that´s the reality.
Gays are ok as long as they are serving her, but she wouldn´t like to have one in her house, go away!

NOTHING WONG WITH WHAT SHE SAID...SHE KNOWS THAT tHE LIFE OF A GAY PERSON IS REALLY COMPLEX..AND WHAT PARENT WOULD WISH HER OWN SON TO BE UNHAPPY??....SHE IS JUST BEING HONEST...AND I REALLY RESPECT THAT!

She was stupip twice: for saying what she said and for saying that to Hebe Camargo, who has a gay son. It was not what she said that was the problem, it was the tone and the way. I am sorry for her, a beutiful stupid girl!

She's entitled to an opinion, but it was too naïve of her to think she could be honest on TV.
I agree with SEB, you choose to be victims and you take everything as attacks to your rights. Not everything is.
And if prejudice posed any threat to the existence of gays, the number of people coming out wouldn't be on the rise. Neither would be acceptance and tolerance.
We hetero girls do accept you gay guys (our friends) not because we are politically correct, but because we love you for who you are. But it is political correctness that stops us from saying that sometimes we wish some of you were not gay.We know that our wishing you were something that you're not won't make it happen, but we do wish that and there's nothing anyone can do about either things (the fact that someone is gay or that someone wishes they were not).
But we are not allowed to voice it.
Some day we (humanity) will be so evolved as not to view sexuality (any form of it) as an issue, it will be just another personality trait, we won't even give it much thought. But WE ARE NOT THERE YET.
I mean, PC Patrol, just give it a rest. Live and let live.

maibe she had bad experience with gays mEN