El cuerpo como espejo de las construcciones de género. Una aproximación a la transexualidad femenina

Los aportes feministas en torno a la dicotomía sexo/género así como los debates entre esencialistas y constructivistas han permitido que el cuerpo se convierta en un elemento central para repensar las identidades sexuales. A nivel teórico, el cuerpo se ha entendido como un “texto” que refleja el simbolismo de la sociedad o como un agente del mundo social. Sin embargo, ¿qué lugar tiene el cuerpo material en estas discusiones? ¿Por qué las identidades se presentan cada vez más descorporeizadas? ¿Se puede escapar de un cuerpo natural que justifica la subordinación de quienes se alejan del modelo heterosexual y normativo? Mediante un estudio etnográfico sobre la transexualidad femenina y las modificaciones corporales que llevan a cabo para actuar y representar una cierta noción de feminidad, se argumentará que el cuerpo sigue siendo el espejo para las construcciones de género, un cuerpo dotado de una materialidad que tiene un origen social e histórico

“Tengo mucho placer para enseñarte”: sobre travestis brasileñas trabajadoras del sexo y la gestión pública de la prostitución en Barcelona

En Barcelona se han desarrollado diferentes prácticas para controlar y regular el espacio público de la ciudad. Con relación a la prostitución, se han implementado una serie de mecanismos para, en definitiva, limitar el libre ejercicio del trabajo sexual callejero. El objetivo de este artículo es presentar una doble lectura del espacio en relación al trabajo sexual. Por un lado, se examinarán las diferentes políticas públicas y normativas ideadas para eliminar de las calles los “problemas” que “incomodan” al “buen” ciudadano. Y, por el otro lado, particularmente atendiendo al caso de las travestis brasileñas trabajadoras del sexo, se analizarán las prácticas que ellas han creado para seguir viviendo de una actividad que no sólo representa la única fuente de ingresos a su alcance, sino que es el principal medio que las empodera y les permite exhibir públicamente su feminidad. Paraules clau: trabajo sexual, control, calles, travestis, migraciones, cuerpos Abstract In Barcelona, different practices have been developed to control and regulate the public areas of the city. Among these, a number of mechanisms have been implemented to restrict the free exercise of street sex work. This article presents a double reading of spaces where sex-related activities take place. On the one hand, the various public policies and regulations designed to eliminate from the streets the “problems that bother good citizens” will be examined. On the other hand, a specific case – the practices created by Brazilian transvestites in order to survive as sex workers – will be analyzed. Prostitution is not only considered by transvestites as the principal source of income within their reach, but also as the main vehicle that empowers them and enables them to display their femininity publicly. Keywords: sex work, control, streets, transvestites, migration, bodie

Some Thoughts on "Travestis", Clients and Husbands: Gender and Sexuality in The Construction of the Identities of Brazilian Travesti Sex Workers

Este artículo examina el modo en que las travestis brasileñas trabajadoras del sexo interactúan social y sexualmente con sus clientes y maridos para construir sus identidades como travestis. Las travestis, que no son transformistas ni transexuales, constituyen un tipo de identidad de género que no sólo pone de relieve cómo se hace el género, sino que al mismo tiempo descentran la manera en que los cuerpos se convierten en legibles. Las travestis encarnan un tipo ideal y ficcional de mujer y, simultáneamente, hacen uso de una genitalidad considerada típicamente masculina. Partiendo de una de las formas en que se organiza la sexualidad en Brasil —modelo “activo/pasivo”—, se observa que se establece una relación jerárquica entre, por un lado, quienes son considerados “hombres de verdad” y, por el otro, quienes son feminizados, desvalorizados y estigmatizados por ser sometidos sexualmente. Paradójicamente, las travestis transitan con fluidez entre ambos márgenes de la sexualidad y del género. El artículo destaca que importa distinguir la manera en que se actúa y se interpretan los roles de género para poder comprender las prácticas sexuales de las travestis y dar sentido a cómo construyen su propia manera de entender la feminidad.This article examines the way Brazilian travesti sex workers interact socially and sexually with their clients and husbands in order to build their identities as travestis. Travestis, who are not cross-dressers nor transsexuals, constitute a kind of gender identity that not only emphasizes how gender is done, but at the same time decentralizes how bodies become “legible”. Travestis embody an ideal and fictional type of woman and, simultaneously, make use of a considered typically male sexuality. On the basis of one of the ways in which sexuality is organized in Brazil —“active/passive” model—, a hierarchical relationship is established between, on the one hand, those who are considered to be “real men” and, on the other hand, those who are feminized, devalued and stigmatized for being dominated sexually. Paradoxically, travestis pass fluently between both margins of sexuality and gender. This article highlights that it is important to distinguish how gender roles are acted and interpreted in order to understand the sexual practices of travestis and to make sense of how they construct their own way of understanding femininity

The influence of age difference in marriage on longevity.

The simplest and most economical analysis was by Chi square. The Chi square statistic presented opportunities to assess significance for each cell separately, as well as, for columns, rows, and for the entire table. Only the age 75-79 year old cohort demonstrated a significant relationship between age difference of spouse and longevity. Men with wives one interval younger (age 70-74) lived longer than would be expected when compared to the percentage of men married to women in that age category. Also, men married to women who were one interval older (age 80 or older) died in far greater numbers than would be expected based on the living population. Thus, there was limited support for the hypothesis. In the discussion it was noted that more typical role relationships resulted in lower rates of mortality in the 75-79 year old cohort. However, findings overall were not conclusive enough to be generalizable to other age cohorts.Heuristic conclusions were offered based on the general findings of this study. Future research which would further examine communication related factors in the significant cohort was recommended as an outgrowth of this study.The data for this study were derived from two national sources. The proportion of deceased persons was calculated by using relevant information from the National Mortality Followback Survey (National Center for Health Statistics, 1968). The data for the proportion of living persons for each age category were drawn from the 1970 Census of Population, Subject Reports, Marital Status (Bureau of the Census, 1970). Both samples were narrowed to include only married, white males, between 50-79 years of age married to women from 10 years older to 25 years younger. Ages of married males and ages of their spouses were divided into five year intervals.This study was designed to determine whether there were any significant findings related to age difference in marriage and longevity. This general approach assessed the usefulness of the topic area for further study and identified specific areas deserving more detailed research. Neither the necessary data nor the research foundation was available to devise a study which could test for interpersonal and intrapersonal effects in marriage on longevity. However, there was some tangential support for the supposition that age-related role relationships do exert a powerful influence on both marriage and longevity.The purpose of this investigation was to examine the influence of age difference in marriage on longevity. While acknowledging the central importance of genetic and physical factors in predicting longevity, recent research has also stressed the profound effect of social influences. Although communication factors have not been explored directly in longevity study, such factors are implicit in the interactive nature of relationships. This study explores age differences in marriage as one of the social factors which may influence the dynamics of marriage, and therefore, longevity

Commemoration of an Assassin: Representing the Armenian Genocide

The role of interpretation becomes fundamental in respect to unpacking memory, and by extension, elucidating how it is that we engage, consciously or unconsciously, in the construction of representational identities through commemoration. In the case of the Armenian Genocide, interpretations are further complicated by the presence of unresolved trauma, or more concretely, the denial of the memory of genocide. This trauma results in the inability to access the events of 1915 as political/memorial/historical/material "sites" of discourse. In order to negotiate this trauma, commemorative works such as the Soghomon Tehlirian monument in Fresno, Ca, have been constructed. This rhetorical space of "genocide" offers strategic access to memories and meaning and allows for a perpetuation of historical narrative in its most palatable and controlled forms. Through this enjoinment of identities, Armenians are offered a sense of identity and agency in direct opposition to a historical experience/representation that granted them neither

Geografía travesti: Cuerpos, sexualidad y migraciones de travestis brasileñas (Rio de Janeiro-Barcelona)

Esta tesis se centra en la construcción de las identidades de travestis brasileñas migrantes. Las travestis, que no son transformistas ni transexuales, constituyen un tipo de identidad de género que no sólo pone de relieve cómo se hace el género, sino que al mismo tiempo descentran la manera en que los cuerpos se convierten en legibles. Las travestis encarnan un tipo ideal y ficcional de mujer y, simultáneamente, hacen uso de una genitalidad típicamente “masculina”. Lo femenino y lo masculino interactúan, negocian, juegan y se articulan en un mismo cuerpo travesti. Específicamente, en este estudio se analizan los tránsitos corporales y espaciales de travestis brasileñas que migran a Río de Janeiro y a Barcelona en tanto dos escalas, entre otras, en las que aprenden a transformarse en travestis y a empoderarse. Los jóvenes gays y futuras travestis suelen abandonar sus pueblos o pequeñas ciudades de origen para comenzar a vivir sus identidades de género de manera plena. Río de Janeiro es una gran escuela para transformarse definitivamente en travestis. Ingresan en un sistema jerárquico de relaciones sociales, aprenden a modificar sus cuerpos y performar una determinada manera de entender la feminidad, se entrenan como profesionales del sexo y se preparan para dar el siguiente paso: Europa. Este continente es importante para entender las historias, pasadas y presentes, de sus migraciones transnacionales. En tanto “europeas”, “exitosas” y, algunas, “tops”, muchas pueden conseguir un estatus material, social y simbólico que las distingue del resto de sus compañeras. Estos tránsitos geográficos/espaciales son, asimismo, acompañados por transformaciones corporales concretas. Desde sus primeros “montajes” y tomas de hormonas, pasando por los sucesivos “bombeos” de silicona líquida industrial, hasta llegar a las tan codiciadas cirugías estéticas, ellas transitan sus propios itinerarios identitarios. En definitiva, cuando las travestis migran no sólo transitan por distintos territorios, sino que al mismo tiempo están construyendo su propia identidad como travestis. Utilizo el concepto ‘migración trans’ para reflejar que sus movilizaciones espaciales no se efectúan exclusivamente para ganar dinero como trabajadoras del sexo, sino también para satisfacer demandas más amplias a nivel corporal (feminizar sus cuerpos), social (ser respetadas por la sociedad y admiradas por el resto de las travestis) y sexual/genérico (vivir con mayor libertad sus prácticas sexuales e identidades de género). En suma, en la tesis se reflexiona acerca de los cuerpos, la sexualidad y las migraciones de las travestis brasileñas que buscan un lugar –muchas veces frágil- en el mundo. Este recorrido teórico y etnográfico atraviesa los contornos de una geografía travesti que se revela curvilínea, “femenina”, “bella” y, simultáneamente, “viril”.This thesis focuses on the construction of identities of Brazilian travesti migrants. Travestis, who are not cross-dressers nor transsexuals, constitute a kind of gender identity that not only emphasizes how gender is done, but at the same time decentralizes how bodies become “legible”. Travestis embody an ideal and fictional type of woman and, simultaneously, make use of a typically “male” sexuality. The feminine and the masculine interact, negotiate, play and are articulated in the same travesti body. Specifically, this study examines the spatial and bodily transits of Brazilian travestis migrating to Rio de Janeiro and Barcelona as two scales, among others, where they learn how to become travestis and empower themselves. The concept “trans migration” is used here to reflect that spatial mobilizations are not performed exclusively to earn money as sex workers, but also to satisfy broader demands on different levels as the level of the body (by feminizing their bodies), the social level (to be respected by society and admired by other travestis) and the sexual/gender level (to live their sexual practices and gender identities with greater freedom). In sum, the thesis reflects on bodies, sexuality and migrations of Brazilian travestis who look for a place - often fragile - in the world. This theoretical and ethnographic journey crosses the contours of a travesti geography which is revealed as curvilinear, “female”, “beautiful” and, simultaneously, “manly”