Gabriela Leite

About the Author

Gabriela Leite is a pioneering Brazilian activist, author, and advocate for sex workers' rights, whose life and work challenge societal stigmas surrounding sexuality and labor in Latin America. Born and raised in São Paulo, she founded the NGO Davida in 1997 to empower prostitutes and combat exploitation, drawing from her own experiences in the sex trade to fuel her writing and activism. Leite's memoir 'Daughter, Mother, Grandmother, and Whore: The Story of a Woman Who Decided to be a Puta (Latin America in Translation)' offers a raw, unapologetic narrative of resilience, motherhood, and self-determination, blending personal testimony with broader critiques of gender inequality and economic disparity. Through her bold voice, she reclaims the term 'puta' as an act of defiance, inspiring readers to confront taboos and support marginalized voices in the fight for dignity and autonomy.