Sex & Sexuality
Brazilians are a very liberated and sensual people and sexuality forms a part of their daily world. Most women wear clothes to accentuate their forms and the men work out just to show off their bodies. Worship of the body is almost a religion in Rio and on the beach everyone wears as little clothing as possible. No woman would ever go topless but the bikinis leave just a few centimeters to the imagination and the guys pose in skimpy Speedo trunks.
You don't need to be shy in Rio. If you like someone you have only to walk up to them and start talking, it's perfectly normal. A single woman never stands alone in a bar for long and as a guy you may receive a lot of smiles and prolonged eye contact. Sex and romance in Brazil go hand in hand.
Typical pick up places are the bars where there's a lot of movement – it's much easier to talk to someone who's standing up than to sit down at their table and introduce yourself. The Brazilian guys do that but then it seems to be a knack they were born with.
Rio's fame for easy sex centres around the red light district of Copacabana. All along the beach road of Avenida Atlantica you'll find strip joints and bars where you'll find 'ladies of the life', as they put it in Portuguese.
Just from the sociological point of view it's worth passing by Help, the biggest encounters club on that road. It's an experience. Whether you're interested in experiencing this side of Rio or not is up to you but we don't want you to get ripped off. On your own it's all too easy to get robbed, set up or find that your drinks bill in the bar came to 300 bucks.
See also A Guide to Sex in Brazil
Our guides can direct or accompany you to the safer
establishments where you can feel at ease.
You may even find yourself in doubt as to whether
the girl you met is a prostitute or not. Ask yourself
the following questions:
Is she wearing too much make-up?
Did she pick you up on the beach?
Does she get very vague when you ask her what she does
for a living?
Then look in her eyes – Does she look like she's
hunting something or adding up numbers?