Intersections and evolution of ‘Butch-trans’ categories in Puerto Rico: Needs and barriers of an invisible population

ABSTRACT

Public health research among transgender populations globally has primarily focused on HIV/AIDS. However, trans men remain outside of this conceptual framework, with distinct but overlapping social contexts and needs. In Puerto Rico (PR), the trans men population has remained largely hidden within the ‘butch’ lesbian community. The objective of this article is to document the identity construction of trans men and ‘buchas’ (local term to refer to butch lesbians) in PR and its relation to their bodily practices and overall health. We conducted an exploratory qualitative study with 29 trans men and buchas based on ethnographic observation, focus groups, audio-recorded in-depth interviews, and critical discourse analysis. Findings emphasise two domains to be addressed by health policies and initiatives: (1) bodily representations and gender performance, and (2) the meanings of female biological processes. This small-scale ethnographic study represents an initial step towards understanding the social context of this ‘invisible’ community and significant implications for their health and well-being. We provide several recommendations to address public health concerns of this understudied, marginalised community.

KEYWORDS:

• Transgender/transsexual men
• bucha; Puerto Rico
• social stigma
• transgender health

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. Cisgender is a term often used in social science literature to denote an individual whose self-identity conforms to the gender that is socially assigned to him/her at birth based on biological sex (genitalia). The term is useful, in that it decentres normative gender constructs that might otherwise be essentialised as ‘simply natural’ (Koyama, 2002).

2. The literature on trans men has been more extensive in the social sciences than it has in the health sciences. Anthropology, cultural studies, and the humanities have contributed to a growing cross-cultural literature on trans men and butch lesbians in recent years (Cromwell, 1999; Green, 2004; Hansbury, 2005; Hiestand & Levitt, 2004; Newton, 2000; Rubin, 2003; Torres, 2007; Weiss, 2008).

Additional information

Funding

This research was funded by the National Institute of Drug Abuse [grant number 1R21DA032288], [grant number 1K02DA035122]; the Puerto Rico Psychological Association. This article does not represent the opinion of the National Institutes of Health.