Bruna Little Surfer: blog turns into book, call girl turns into writer · Global Voices
Jose Murilo

Bruna Little Surfer is how she is now known. Rachel Pacheco, the Brazilian blogger, became a celebrity while posting details about her job as a call girl in her online diary which was then published in book form as, “The Scorpion's Sweet Poison”  (PDF available in Portuguese).  Recently, Larry Rohter reported in the NY Times that her writing is responsible for “upending convention and setting off a vigorous debate about sexual values and practices, revealing a country that is not always as uninhibited as the world often assumes.” This may be true, and it has been echoed by some of the blogs around. But it only touches across the surface and misses the deeper meaning of the conversations that are being stimulated in Brazil.
“Bear in mind, of course, that Brazil is itself a land of contradictions: an environment filled with religiosity and Catholic iconography, offset by promiscuity, rampant prostitution and an ‘anything goes’ lifestyle among the young. Expect Bruna's tale to generate widespread interest, both critical and supportive. She may be Brazil's latest symbol of empowerment, shame and recognition. That stuff is great copy!”
The Real Deal Sells: The Scorpion's Sweet Poison – Lawyers and Business Executives in the News™
“It's sad that the New York Times, the most respected newspaper in the world (until then), announced Bruna Surfistinha as a Brazilian ‘cultural phenomenon’. Her merit would be of waking up the country to a debate about sexual practices, which also revealed a society not as liberal as is shown during the carnival. They went to the point of calling her a ‘sexual guru'! No pseudo-moralist speeches, please. This whole thing has gone too far.”
Brazilian program for export – Infoblog – Ana Maria Brambilla – Ibest
The mainstream media is emphasizing the “tramp-to-celebrity” phenomenon more than the blogosphere which is providing some very interesting discussion. For example, Pedro Doria, a Brazilian A-list blogger, praises the overall effect of the Internet in making available what before was object of restricted access — in this case, nudity and sex. He helped in the promotion of Bruna with the launching of his own book ‘Eu gosto de uma coisa errada‘ (‘I like a wrong thing’) where he reported various cases of people who became famous on the net for disclosing their privacy and exposing their sexual intimacy.  His accounts of Bruna Surfistinha and “Swingers, Voyeurs and other Characters in Internet's Sexual Revolution” were based on posts to the site ‘nomínimo‘.  Doria's theory is that this is an opening with many advantages because moralistic metaphors, that used to bring difficulties in the communication with young people about sexual pleasure and its risks, are being replaced by language that demystifies and promotes real dialogue.
“Friday 28, Bruna Little Surfer is completing 21. She is retiring. The move is being planned, and money is being saved since last year. She sold sex for three years, ten days. The day she left home, fighting with mom, fighting with dad, she was still 17. The next birthday she would complete working in a private club in São Paulo… I found her on GPGuia, an online forum where customers review the call girls performances. Bruna was the champion in votes. It was not her technical skills what they were talking about. She was just sweet. Then I found the blog – it was the first one written by a call girl in Brazil, and she was really good in expressing herself”
The Farewell of Bruna Surfistinha – nominimo
“A Brazilian call girl named Paula Lee (24) is making the headlines in Portugal with her blog containing erotic tales, which she calls sexual therapy. The comparisons between Paula Lee and Raquel Pacheco, or Bruna Little Surfer, are inevitable. She defends herself saying that she followed Bruna's blog since September, when she wrote her first erotic tale. ‘She is a courageous and firm person and is due great value for demistifying the prostitution world, showing the human side that many would not believe existed.”
Brazilian Erotic Blog Succeeds in Portugal – Terra
From the perspective of Brazilian blogs, Bruna was the first to cross the sexual frontiers experimenting with the social online interaction. Starting with the forums and then the blog, she managed to capture the attention (and the fantasies) of her target public, achieving her initial goal of advertising her services. The fact is that she really likes to write, and carefully kept notes from all the customers she had. When those notes started to be published in the blog a new kind of interaction developed that expanded both the intimacy and the size of the audience. Then came Pedro Doria's book revealing the novelty to larger audiences and resulting in the publishing of her own book which is having an astounding selling performance. Next came the Spanish language version and the promotional tours. Right now she is having a fine time going from Buenos Aires, Argentina to Montevideu, Uruguay with her boyfriend Pedro.
“I had a good impression of Montevideu, but I would not live there for a single reason: there is no buzz, and no stressing as we have in São Paulo. To someone accustomed to the crazy life, as me, it would be impossible to live in such a clean and calm city. But I plan to come back to Montevideu in order to visit Punta Del Este, stay at Conrad's and try to get rich at the casino. Before going to the airport we made some shots in a photographic session as I will be on the cover of a well known magazine in Uruguay.”
The day – Bruna Little Surfer's Diary
“I won't be stupid and follow some critics who talk about the book as a revelation of secrets  about the life of a call girl, as there are no secrets in the ‘world's oldest profession’. With the hypocracy left behind, we can face the real secret contained in the book. Bruna's secret is the same as the secret of all moral warriors: it's the fact that behind a prostitute there is a secret aura that attracts men. It's exactly with this contradiction that Bruna plays, opposing the family girl who chooses to turn into a call girl with the call girl who chooses to turn back into a family girl. There is the origin of the charming chemistry contained in all those girls who use their bodies as a way of life.”
What is behind Bruna Little Surfer? – Possentisson's Blog
Any research initiative about society and culture in Brazil today must check out what's going on about the issue in Orkut — Google's social networking site.  Seventy percent of Orkut members are Brazilians, something around 14 million people. Through a single search on ‘surfistinha’ we reached 228 communities, where the main ones are: bruna surfistinha (19,452 members);  i read bruna surfistinha's blog (2,221); bruna surfistinha & pedro (2,136); bruna surfistinha's ex-customers (939); enough of bruna surfistinha (552); i hate bruna surfistinha (494); bruna surfistinha for president (263) and bruna surfistinha = bad example (55).  The contradictions are explicit in the blogs as would be natural — and essential — any time and any place that we talk about human sexuality. Bloggers and social networkers alike offer both praises and condemnations. “She may be cool, but she is certainly a bad example.”
“I left this comment on Bruna Little Surfer's blog: Congratulations, I didn't know that being a hooker would make so many waves. Really… you are one of the privileged of this cannibal world, which eats the wrong persons, swallowing their values. You are beautiful, but as any other filthy human being, you take advantage of the wrong things. Put yourself in your place, try to learn from the life you chose, and stop presenting such a bad example saying you like to be a bitch. They are giving too much space to someone that doesn't have anything to teach us.”
Stop the world!! I want to step out – Débora Domingues – Blog
“Yeah, that's right. Bruna Little Surfer is now the model for this blog. This girl earned money and reached fame because she is intelligent. She went all by herself, sold sex, made money with that, but as soon as she noticed she could succeed selling her own story, she retired from her previous life and started to invest in her writing career.”
Bruna Surfistinha – Woman on the wheel
What's really interesting to us is the fact that her story illustrates to a whole generation what can be done with a blog associated with good writing. While the NY Times and traditional editorial writers pontificate about culture and morality and while academics generate new socio-anthropological theses about Bruna Little Surfer and disruptive sexual behaviors, the kids are learning something else. They are learning that the Internet and communicating through writing well are opportunities for success. As we would expect, the kids have a much better understanding about the real meaning of the phenomenon of Bruna Little Surfer.
“Little by little I will be reporting my whole life… like it was a book I always wanted to write. I don't have so many adventures or crazy stories as Bruna Little Surfer, but there are things that, until today, I was the only one to know. By the way, talking about Little Surfer, I recommend that you read her book… not with horny eyes, but as a father, or like future parents that should learn to observe and understand their kids… in the details.”
Presentation and start of this blog – Neco's Diary
“I am not Bruna Little Surfer… but now I have my own blog… today the day was calm… my mother was out with Duda to the doctor, and I spent the whole morning online… installed the msn windows live… then I discovered that the msn-plus is not compatible… shit… what can I do? But even then, I loved it… it gave me my own space… I had one before but I couldn't see the value… now I see… hehehe!!!”
Today I start my journey in my little space!!!!!!! – Barbara Beyonce
These kids are just starting. They are starting just by talking about themselves. They are securing and becoming secure in their own spaces where they can express their truths with passion and skill. They are reaching out and connecting with each other and audiences that contain many possibilities. Some day some of them may change the world or just give us something to laugh or cry about.