Over 500 tubes of frozen semen were imported to Brazil in 2017. (Photo by FABIO TEIXEIRA/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
Brazilian women are looking to get their hands on the sperm of blonde-haired, blue-eyed, white American men more than ever before.
The demand for American male sperm is skyrocketing in Brazil, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal, and blue-eyed white males rank number one on the list of desired donors. The reasons behind the surge may be surprising, however.
“Over the past seven years, human semen imports from the U.S. to Brazil have surged as more rich single women [and] lesbian couples select donors whose online profiles suggest they’ll yield light-complexioned and preferably blue-eyed children,” the report states.
Moreover, the report noted that more than 500 tubes of semen were imported to Brazil last year, a significant jump from 16 in 2011. Frederik Andreasson, CFO of Seattle Sperm Bank, told the Journal the vast majority of what it stores and sells are from white, blonde–haired, blue-eyed donors. The company provides about a fourth of Brazil’s frozen sperm imports.
In a nation where more than 50 percent of the populous is either Black or mixed race, it leads some to wonder why Brazilian women are seeking white men’s sperm. The reasons are both economic and social, the report explains, as having fairer skin is often seen as a path to better prospects in life, from a higher salary to better treatment by the police.
(Image courtesy of Wall Street Journal)
This stark racial divide can be linked to Brazil’s legacy of slavery and white colonizers’ efforts to “lighten” the majority-Black population.
“… A legacy of Brazil having imported more than 10 times as many African slaves than the U.S., and it was the last Western country to ban slavery, in 1888,” according to the report. “The descendants of white colonizers and immigrants — many of whom were lured to Brazil in the late 19th and early 20th centuries when the ruling elite explicitly sought to ‘whiten’ the population — control most of the country’s political power and wealth.”
It’s estimated that nearly 80 percent of Brazil’s wealthiest 1 percent are white. So, women have increasingly requested blue-eyed donors to increase their chances of producing a child with lighter skin.
The demand for foreign sperm isn’t all that surprising, however, considering the fact that buying sperm within the country is illegal. While some are willing to pay the hefty price for white American sperm, those unable to afford it have taken to Facebook to find just what they’re looking for.
“Every month, scores of Brazilian men post offers there to impregnate women free, either by having sex or with a needleless syringe,” the Journal reported.
