Candidates looking for an entry-level position in southern Brazil law enforcement no longer need to be masculine in order to be considered.
The Agence France-Presse (AFP) reports that the word “masculinity” has been dropped from a job posting in the southern state of Paraná that listed 72 required attributes for interested candidates. The word will be replaced with “endurance.” The poster has also removed a prohibition on falling in love.
“After criticism from a national gay alliance, the Brazilian attorneys’ association and the Paraná government, the police rewrote the rules,” the AFP reported.
The attribute was included as part of a psychological profile requested of candidates looking for 16 different jobs. Each were open to men and women.
Masculinity was defined on the job posting as “an individual’s capacity to remain unmoved by violent scenes, to put up with vulgarity, not to become emotional easily and not to have interest in romantic episodes or love.”
The Brazilian Daily Newspaper Folha De São Paulo reported that not being masculine enough wouldn’t necessarily disqualify someone from the job, as it was just one item on a list. Job applicants need only have two-thirds of the attributes to get the job. Candidates also need to be at least 30 years old and a high school graduate.
Other attributes on the list, according to Folha, include “empathy,” “extroversion,” and “conformity.” The list also includes attributes that may hurt a candidate, such as “depression,” and “vulnerability.”
After complaints were filed against the required attributes, police issued a statement claiming the list was supposed to help assess the “necessary aspects of day-to-day military police activity.”
“The Military Police of Paraná does not condone and tolerate discriminatory behaviors and positions of any nature,” the agency added.