Abstract This paper aims to address different ways in which gender and sexuality shape practices and decisions in the Brazilian Supreme Federal Court, considering that the judges of the court set and define gender and sexuality related policies. Therefore, we analyze nine cases involving gender and sexuality public controversies. We aim to explore: a) the gendered practices of structuring the text of the Court’s rulings; and b) whether the judges commit to build a “grammar of suffering” and how they articulate the role of the victim to recognize or deny rights.