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Abstract
The aim of this article is to highlight the ways in which Brazilian travestis negotiate and strategise transnational mobility in order to work as prostitutes in Spain. Brazilian travestis working illegally in Spain are subject to gendered, sexualised and racial marginalisation. In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted between April and September 2008 with 10 Brazilians acting as providers of sexual services in Spain. The interviews were systematised by means of content analysis, which allowed the preparation of a map of meanings around the spatial and lived experiences of travestis. We argue that travestis identities are constructed at the intersection of gender, sexuality, class and race. This fluid intersectionality allows the group to simultaneously manage their positions of both privilege and oppression.
Interseccionalidad y movilidad transnacional entre Brasil y España en las redes de prostitución travestis
El objetivo de este artículo es destacar las formas en que travestis brasileras negocian y estrategizan la movilidad transnacional con el objeto de trabajar como prostitutas en España. Las travestis brasileras que trabajan ilegalmente en España están sometidas a una marginalización de género, sexual, y racial. Se condujeron entrevistas en profundidad semiestructuradas entre abril y septiembre de 2008 con diez brasileras que actuaban como proveedoras de servicios sexuales en España. Las entrevistas fueron sistematizadas por medio del análisis de contenido, lo cual permitió la preparación de un mapa de significados alrededor de las experiencias espaciales vividas por las travestis. Sostenemos que las identidades de las travestis son construidas en la intersección entre género, sexualidad, clase y raza. Esta interseccionalidad fluida permite al grupo manejar simultáneamente sus posiciones tanto de privilegio como de opresión.
性别反串者卖淫网络在巴西与西班牙之间的相互交织性与跨国流动
本文目的在于凸显巴西性别反串者协商并策略化跨国流动，以此在西班牙从事性工作的方式。在西班牙非法工作的巴西性别反串者，遭受性别化、性化与种族的边缘化。本研究于2008年四月至九月之间，对于十位在西班牙提供性服务的巴西人进行半结构式的深度访谈。这些访谈透过内容分析进行系统化，用以准备绘製围绕在性别反串者的空间及生活经验的意义地图。我们主张，性别反串者的的身份认同，是在性别、性、阶级与种族的相互交织中建构而成。流动的相互交织性，让这群人能够同时应付他们同为享有优势与受到压迫的位置。
Acknowledgements
We would like to express our gratitude to the Brazilian travestis who granted us interviews and our colleagues at the Renascer NGO in Brazil. We also deeply appreciate the help of Maria Rodó de Zárate and Marta Jorba in our pleasurable discussions about this text. We also want to express our gratitude to the reviewers of this article and the editor of this journal.
Notes
1. The word ‘trans’ is used to identify transgender and transsexuals in relation to the Anglophone literature.
2. Kulick's (1998) research includes important elements to underpin the idea that travestis have a specific identity within the Brazilian cultural context. This idea is very interesting and useful for researchers. When Kulick expresses his ideas about the identities of Brazilian travestis, however, it ultimately simplifies their lives, disregarding the possibility that the travesti universe can include numerous other compositions between sex, gender and desire.
3. All the quotes from Brazilian travestis were translated from Portuguese (together with some Spanish words) into English.
4. I was corrected by the activists in Madrid, who told me that the ‘correct’ term would be to use the word ‘transgender’ or ‘mujuertrans’, since the word ‘travesti’ was a pejorative term.
5.El País and El mundo.
6.http://www.travestiguide.com and http://www.rincontranny.com.
7. According to the consolidated economic indicators of the Central Bank of Brazil, the average rate of growth in the 1980s and 1990s was − 0.56% and 0.95%, respectively (http://www.bcb.gov.br/?INDECO).
8. In Ponta Grossa city, Paraná, Brazil.
9. The term ‘Mona’ is utilised by the group of travestis as a term of endearment among themselves.
10. The project was funded by CAPES in 2008.
11. Anti-immigration policies adopted by the European Union (EU) culminated with the approval of the ‘European Directive of Return’ in June 2008, valid for all EU countries (except the UK, Ireland and Denmark) (http://www.europarl.europa.eu). However, years before, France and Italy had already tightened up their immigration policies.
12. This term refers to a person who injects liquid silicone into the body of travestis to build a feminine form. She mastered the technique of ‘building female bodies’ for travestis by the injection of liquid industrial silicone. This technique is illegal in Brazil. The ‘bombadeira’ is a important person in the relationship networks among the group.
13. ‘Amapô’ is the term used by the group to refer to a woman.
14. All names used are fictitious.
15. The interviews were systematised by the frequency of comments and classified into discursive categories. The intensity with which some categories were discussed by the group generated a map of meanings in which it was possible to observe the central and peripheral discursive categories of the interviewees. Thus, the percentages do not refer to the interviewees, but the intensity of the categories used in the discourse of the travestis.
16. Self-identification as a travesti appears to be somewhat fluid. Two of them stated that they were ‘still transvestites’, but that after achieving their dream of going through reassignment surgery they would be ‘transsexual’. Another of them said that she was currently a transsexual but that she had been a travesti before she had undergone surgery. Consequently, to be a travesti involves overcoming the sedentary order of classification structures, involving references with nomadic meanings and narratives, as proposed by Peres (2012).
17. A term which means ‘pretty’ in Spanish. In this context it was used to mean ‘girl’.
18. A term used by the group to refer to a situation of conflict, gossip or scandal.
19. Excerpt from trial interview with Pandora, Madrid, 2 September 2008.
20. ‘No truque’ (literally ‘the trick’) is a term used by the group that means to deceive or distort something in order to take advantage.
21. Streets parallel to the Gran Via such as Calle del Desengaño, La Puebla, Valverde and Fuencarral, and Paseo de la Castellana.
22. ‘Praça’ is a slang expression used by the group referring to a ‘vacancy’ for prostitution in apartments or closed clubs). ‘Pista’ is another slang expression used by the group to refer to prostitution on the street.
23. The expression ‘networks of personhood’ means that travestis need to dominate not only the people involved in relationships, but also the cultural and moral codes that form the bonds between them, developing relationships that distribute as much prestige as disdain. The domain of this network can position travestis either in the centre or the margin of power relations.
24. The average time to stay in each city is one month.
25. Cities most frequently cited by interviewees possess touristic characteristics or are medium to large in size, such as Madrid and Barcelona, followed by Palma de Mallorca, Valencia, Bilbao, Zaragoza, Murcia and Alicante.
26. People trafficking as defined by the Palermo Protocol (2000) and ratified by the Brazilian government has been criticised by activists and some current feminist scholars. The criticisms revolve around the use of the definition of people trafficking, which hides the reality of a situation where people from poor countries migrate in order to work in the sex trade in rich countries.
27. Interview with Iris, Madrid, 22 May 2008.
28. ‘Give a candy’ is a slang expression used by the group. It means ‘give you a beating’.
29. ‘Daughter’ is a slang expression used by the group to refer to a travesti who lives in madam's house. The madam is called ‘mother’.
30. ‘Polla gorda’ is an expression similar to ‘big cock’.
31.www.taiakashemales.com
32.http://travestisbrasilenas.com (accessed 12 December 2011).
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Joseli Maria Silva
Joseli Maria Silva is Professor of Human Geography, State University of Ponta Grossa, Paraná, Brazil. She is the Gender Editor for the Latin American Journal of Geography and is currently coordinator of the Territorial Studies Group.
Marcio Jose Ornat
Marcio Jose Ornat is Professor of Human Geography, State University of Ponta Grossa, Paraná, Brazil. He is currently vice-coordinator of the Territorial Studies Group.
