Mr. Gay Europe will help queer children and young people.

In the summer of 2025, Swiss national Michael Esteves Pereira was elected Mr. Gay Europe in Amsterdam – partly due to his project "Safe to Grow." With this project, the aspiring pediatrician aims to raise awareness within the healthcare system about the needs of young queer people. He has since achieved his first success.

Text: Ralf Kaminski

Michael Esteves Pereira is a busy man: He works as a resident physician at the Children's Hospital Zurich and in a private practice, is currently preparing for his specialist exams, travels to queer events across Europe as Mr. Gay Europe, and in his free time is developing his own project, "Safe to Grow ." The 31-year-old also has a long-term relationship to which he wants to dedicate some time. "It's actually quite a lot right now—and not always easy to do justice to everything," Michael admits. Nevertheless, he readily agrees when Queeramnesty contacts him for an interview.

Discrimination based on ignorance

He's also taking the time because he wants to raise awareness for his passion project, "Safe to Grow." Its goals: to make the healthcare system a better place for queer kids – for example, through workshops for professionals, awareness campaigns, and scientific support for projects. "There's a lot of ignorance in the healthcare system, which is why discrimination happens unintentionally time and again," Michael explains. "The situation of queer children and young people is currently only touched upon briefly, or not at all, in medical training. I studied medicine for six years, and we spent exactly ten minutes discussing gender-specific medicine in that entire time. That's why continuing education is so important."

“I studied medicine for six years, and in all that time we spent exactly ten minutes discussing gender medicine,” says Michael Esteves Pereira. (Photo: courtesy of the author)

But building such structures takes time. "It's more of a marathon than a sprint, and there are many factors that are difficult to influence." Meanwhile, Michael and his team of volunteers can celebrate an initial success: In November, the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW) will introduce a new module for nursing staff, which is also relevant for exams. The goal is for this to later become mandatory for all students. Promising discussions are also currently underway with the Equal Opportunities Office in the city of Basel.

Theory and role-playing games at ZHAW

“We are currently developing the module's content and have a great deal of freedom in this regard from ZHAW. The plan is for two 45-minute sessions. The first part will cover theory, including subject-specific, methodological, and social skills related to sexual orientation, gender identity, and the role of society. The second part will feature case studies with interactive role-playing exercises. These will depict situations in which students can learn how to react appropriately.” Previously, there had been similar plans with another institution, but these fell through at the last minute. “That was quite frustrating after investing so much time. Fortunately, ZHAW contacted us shortly afterward. If we can demonstrate our approach and its impact, we hope it will attract further interest.”

The aspiring pediatrician sees primarily structural hurdles that need improvement: "For example, in a large hospital, everything is regulated according to gender, father/mother. If you try to change that, you often encounter resistance because, for example, the IT system isn't designed for it." He adds that even the registration form is frustrating for queer people or rainbow families.

Michael Esteves Pereira works as a resident at the Children's Hospital Zurich and in a private practice. (Photo: Dominic Barker)

“And the professionals are often overwhelmed due to a lack of knowledge. For example, if a child is registered in the system as female, but with the note ‘ wants to be called Tim , ’ it immediately creates uncertainty: How should the child be addressed? Does the child need to be admitted to the hospital? This would probably happen with girls, but what if ‘ Tim ’ doesn’t want that? What are the legal implications? In the end, everyone is dissatisfied—patients and doctors alike. We want to change that. All the more so because medical professionals also have an influence on families.” While much of the well-being of queer children depends on their immediate environment—their parents and friends—“if we try to influence the family from our perspective and at least provide them with sound and competent advice, this can have an additional positive impact,” Michael is convinced.

Looking for more support and donations

The goal is to establish "Safe to Grow" to the point where the project is self-financing. "We're still a long way from that," says Michael. "Last year, we launched a major fundraising campaign and contacted over 250 organizations and individuals. The feedback was positive; everyone thought it was a good idea—but we only received concrete support from perhaps 10 percent." He suspects this is also related to the current political backlash, which is largely originating in the US. "Ultimately, our first attempt with this other institution also failed because of politics." In any case, you can become a member, supporter, or partner of "Safe to Grow," or simply donate. "And we'd like to see a bit more of everything."

Michael Esteves Pereira has Portuguese roots and grew up in Zermatt with a brother six years his junior, who is also gay. "And those six years made an astonishingly big difference. Bullying was omnipresent for me. Zermatt had many foreign residents, religion was important, and anyone who stepped out of line had a hard time." He didn't come out for a long time because he didn't want to give the bullies the benefit of the doubt. "Instead, I tried to be the biggest gigolo with the ladies, but at some point, that just wasn't possible anymore. When I finally stood up for myself and acted confidently at the cantonal school, everything changed." While his brother didn't always have it easy either, it was much less difficult for him. "He still lives in Zermatt. And when I visit the family there today, the former bullies don't dare look me in the eye."

The parents: once overwhelmed, now proud

During his youth, however, he didn't know anyone else in Zermatt who was gay. There was nowhere to turn to, and everyone felt overwhelmed—including his parents. "Today we have a very close relationship, but that wasn't always the case. For a long time, I thought my parents didn't accept me. But when we finally talked it out, I learned that they didn't have any fundamental reservations, but were very afraid that this would make my life harder than it needed to be. And they, too, simply had no one they could talk to about it."

After winning the title of Mr. Gay Europe in Amsterdam. (Photo: Amsterdam Pride/MGE)

Today, however, they are very proud of him, especially of his victory as Mr. Gay Europe in Amsterdam last August. "After that, I was in the media quite a bit, including in Portugal. There were a lot of comments on social media, both positive and negative. And I was worried about how my parents would take it. Meanwhile, they were worried about how I would take it," Michael says with a laugh. "Anyway, it turned out that both sides actually took it pretty lightly."

Mr. Gay Europe attracted a lot of attention

His victory in Amsterdam also proved beneficial for "Safe to Grow," as the media attention gave him the opportunity to present his project to a wider audience. "It was a real game changer for us." At the same time, as Mr. Gay Europe, he is officially "an ambassador for greater visibility, education, and inclusion" and therefore regularly appears at queer events throughout Europe. "Unlike in Switzerland, some countries have preliminary rounds for Mr. Gay; for example, I sit on the juries in Belgium, Spain, and Great Britain." He also emphasizes that the competition is about much more than good looks: "All participants have to present a project they are committed to."

In his role, Michael naturally gains considerable insight into the situation of queer people in Europe. "Every European country has something that's still lacking regarding queer rights – some have this, others that, and in some, there are significantly greater restrictions than in Switzerland." He hasn't yet been to Hungary, a particularly difficult case. "With the necessary support, I could imagine performing there as well. But putting yourself out there in such a country is a bit daunting. Mr. Gay Europe, as an organization, could certainly do more in this regard; it tends to operate in countries where it's safe."

Previous winners of the competition each held the title for a year, but Michael's successor won't be chosen until summer 2027, meaning he will retain the title and its associated responsibilities for some time. "I'm very pleased about that. And ideally, this will lead to something lasting for the community, like ' Safe to Grow ' ."

“Unlike the older generation, many of us don’t really know what it means to have to fight for our rights; we have to relearn that. And the big question is: Are we ready to fight again the way the older generations did back then?”

If all goes well, he'll also officially receive his specialist title in pediatrics and adolescent medicine this fall. He and his partner Dominic actually want children too. "But things are just too hectic right now. At least we already know how we would go about it – for gay couples, it's still more difficult in Switzerland than for lesbian couples, who have access to sperm banks. But Dominic is half Colombian, and surrogacy is legal there. We would probably take advantage of that."

But until then, he still has time to get involved in the community, which he finds all the more important given the current backlash, especially for younger queer people like himself. "I belong to a generation that didn't primarily go to Pride anymore to demonstrate; for us, it was more about the party. Unlike older generations, many of us don't really know what it means to have to fight for our rights; we have to relearn that. And the big question is: Are we ready to fight again the way the older generations did back then?" Michael Esteves Pereira certainly hopes so – and is leading by example.