Abstract

HOENISCH, Júlio Cesar D.  and  PACHECO, Pedro José. Reflections about femininity in the transvestite situation. Estud. psicanal. [online]. 2012, n.38, pp. 79-88. ISSN 0100-3437.

This paper addresses some points of a qualitative research that that was carried out in 2010 in Feira de Santana, in the state of Bahia, articulating interview techniques and observation methods and aiming to map experiences and representations of violence among transvestites in that town. The analysis of interviews and observations was supported by the theoretical fields of psychoanalysis and anthropology, and the analysis methodology was the Critical Discourse Analysis. The sample was composed of four over 18-year-old transvestites that did not work as sex professionals, living in Feira de Santana, Bahia. The method employed was qualitative, and the methodological resources consisted of semi-structured interview and observation. The results found problematize both body and femininity as seen by the classical literature. The transvestites interviewed showed some body concerns, refusing the use of silicone and invasive body changes traditionally mentioned in specialized literature. Regarding the process of identification and the feeling of belonging, in terms of gender, the results have also evidenced divergences related to both the model of ‘super-femininity’ traditionally proposed for this group and the context of marginality (prostitution and aggressiveness), a ‘classical’ scenario in which these individuals have been described. Such results and problematization point out the need of new studies to evidence the kinds of body modality and identification (new femininity models?) that have been constituted for this identity group in contemporaneity.

Keywords : Transvestites; Body; Identity; Subjectivity.

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