Affluent Brazilian Backpacker Notes Immediate Improvement In Treatment After Clarifying He's An Affluent Brazilian Backpacker

INGRID DOULTON | Lady Writer | Contact

There are few things more educational for a young man from São Paulo's Jardins district than six months in Australia on a working holiday visa.

Mateus Faria arrived in Betoota with a tasteful linen wardrobe, neutral sneakers and the easy confidence of someone whose father has a monopoly on agricultural machinery across three Brazilian states. What he did not anticipate was how quickly he would be absorbed into Australia's broad and flexible definition of "man of subcontinental appearance".

The shift, he later explained, was subtle. A cab driver who once called him "boss" now called him “mate.” A property manager who had been brisk but polite became suddenly procedural and accomodating.

"At first I thought perhaps it was my beard," Faria said.

"In Brazil this is considered European."

Australia, he would learn, operates with what sociologists might call a subconscious hierarchy of brown. There are tiers. There are accents. There are professions attached to assumptions. And there is, crucially, mobility within the system.

The mobility arrived the moment Faria clarified his nationality.

"No, no, I’m Brazilian," he said one afternoon, after being asked which IT course he was studying.

The temperature in the room changed. His accent became "interesting." His beard became "Latin" and "sexy". His father’s business, once irrelevant, was now charming. Within minutes he was fielding questions about Rio, football and whether Brazil was dangerous like in the movies.

Service improved. Smiles widened. Jokes softened.

"It was fascinating," Faria said.

"I realised it is not about colour. It is about where Australians think you sit on the global ladder."

Friends say the experience has been eye-opening for the young backpacker, who had previously understood race as a largely American conversation. In Australia, he has discovered something quieter. Less overt. More managerial.

He now finds himself performing small clarifications in casual settings, as one might produce a platinum credit card. It is not pride, he insists. It is efficiency.

"People are very kind here," he said.

"They just need to know what kind of brown you are."

More to come.