Transfeminine Bodies: Survival and Resilience Experiences in Brazil

Abstract

This article aims to provide the results of anthropological research in Brazil regarding how trans and transvestites have survived in a country that is world-ranked in transfeminicide and how they find ways of resistance and resilience through support and care from networks to public health policies. The methodology used in the research was based on a multisited ethnography, through fieldwork and qualitative interviews, in two different regions: the metropolitan area of João Pessoa, in the state of Paraíba, in the Northeast, and the metropolis of São Paulo, in the Southeast. Using an intersectional perspective, the results show an increase in risks and vulnerabilities by black transfeminine people, mostly those who work in prostitution, because they do not have access to public health systems and have informally produced their care strategies based on local knowledge about the body, health, hormonal therapy, and so forth.

Keywords: transfeminine people, Brazil, care, vulnerability, ethnography