@mayintoronto @evan @fabio Just chiming in that I also agree that expat is a bad word and you should consider not using it.
I call myself an immigrant from Brazil. People call themseves immigrants from a country, the government refers to us refers to us as immigrants.
We’re not expats.
Thanks for coming to my talk.
@renata @mayintoronto @fabio also, as far as I can tell with some quick searching, Brazilian emigrants are in fact called "immigrants" even in Brazil. There's definitely a good research paper in that!
@evan I personally use “immigrant” on purpose since I’m white-presenting and work in tech. It’s an attempt to buck the trend of using this word for a particular kind of immigration (the kind some people don’t want).
I emigrated from Brazil because I wanted to and I acknowledge I had the privilege to do it. Many people in my position would call themselves something else.
Again, this is not meant to cause drama or unnecessary discussion, it’s a personal position!
@fabio Do you use "immigrant" here in Canada? I've never heard a Brazilian here call themselves an expatriate. I've also never seen anyone use anything but "immigrant" in French to describe themselves.
Do you use "imigrante" to describe yourself in Brazil?
@evan Yes to all! There’s also a thing about “imigrante” in Brazil that requires some explanation:
Brazil is not as diverse as it thinks it is - especially compared to Canada. There’s a certain fascination with foreigners there, everyone asks dozens of questions. It becomes a bit of a status symbol because it validates the idea that Brazil is good, actually - so much so that some people *choose* to live there.
@fabio I meant the use of "imigrante" to describe Brazilian citizens living in other countries.
@evan I get it, but everything is related. Brazil is a weird place, worth visiting.
@evan But yes, e.g. my mom says “Fabio immigrated to Canada, he’s an immigrant there”
