Travesti an ethnography of transgender sex work Pedro

Travesti: an ethnography of transgender sex work Pedro Vasconcelos ISCTE-IUL University Institute of Lisbon pedro. vasconcelos@iscte. pt Sofia Aboim University of Lisbon, Institute of Social Sciences sofia. aboim@ics. ul. pt transrightseurope. com

Why Trans Female Prostitution? p p Trans female prostitution (and overall sex-work) represents an important parcel of many female trans-lives, often overlooked in Gender and Trans Studies, which tend to focus on more ‘privileged’ populations. Trans female sex work is an important scholarly object, namely in Brazil (as is the topic of Travestis itself). Through trans female prostitution we can observe transnational migratory movements that can bring complexity into the apparently very ordered gender category systems of specific national realities, also bringing into play the unequal connections between global south and global north. Trans female prostitution not only highlights the complexities of gender, overall (and gender identities, more specifically), but also the complexities of sexualities and sexual identities.

Methodological and Conceptual Strategies p Ethnography (Trans street prostitution): n n n p p In-depth interviews (6 travesti sex-workers) Webnography (trans prostitution and escort web-sites) Grounded Theory Critical dialogue with: n n n p Weekly rounds (accompanying social workers) from dusk till dawn in Conde Redondo, Lisbon. About 20 sex-workers contacted (half Portuguese, half Brazilian). Overall around 30 sex-workers identified. (trans)sex-work studies Gender studies Sociology and Anthropology of Gender Sociology and Anthropology of Transsexuality/Transgenderism Queer Theory and Trans-Studies Refusal of conventional gender theories (e. g. gender roles theories)

Travesti: the word and the people p The Emic category of Travesti (pl. travestis) n n n p DO NOT confuse with the English word Travesty (pl. travesties) n p Refusal of linear translations and universal equivalents (such as transvestite) – the problem of transposing the emic into the etic. BUT also refusal of fetishist otherness – words are not untranslatable in context (e. g. the proliferation of names in prostitution web-sites – travesti, shemale, transvestite, tgirl, tgata, transex, transsexual, transgender, trans, tranny, etc. ): they all refer to feminized sex-workers with a penis. Changes in the specific meaning of the word (Travestis and Transformistas) Small note on etymologies DO NOT confuse with Crossdressers

Travesti: the word and the people (cont. ) p Travesti as come to mean (Don Kulick (1998), Travesti. Sex, Gender, and Culture among Brazilian Transgendered Prostitutes, Chicago & London: The University of Chicago Press, 5/6): n p p p “Travestis (…) adopt female names, clothing styles, hairstyles, cosmetic practices, and linguistic pronouns, and they ingest large amounts of female hormones and pay other travestis to inject up to twenty liters of industrial silicone directly into their bodies in order to acquire feminine bodily features such as breasts, wide hips, large thighs, and, most importantly, expansive buttocks. Despite all these changes, however, many of which are irreversible, travestis do not self-identify as women. That is, despite the fact that they live their lives in female clothing, call one another by female names, and endure tremendous pain in order to acquire female bodily forms, travestis do not wish to remove their penis, and they do not consider themselves to be women. They are not transsexuals. They are instead, they say, homosexuals—males who ardently desire men, and who fashion and perfect themselves as an object of desire for those men. ” In a nutshell – people who permanently look like women, possess a penis and do not identify as either women or transsexuals, but conversely as travestis, and generally do sex-work, catering to an overall male public. We contend that such definitions tend to reify and homogenize a very contextual category, misrepresenting the multiplicity and fluidity of identities and practices, trapping Travestis in a 3 rd category between male and female dichotomous binaries, and creating an artificial unitary gender condition (Travestility). Likewise, such definitions tend to glamourize prostitution (regarding the real contexts of travesti sex-work).

A diverse population p The Body: Montadas versus Verdadeiras n The criteria of bodily modifications: p p n n p Montadas – little to none body modifications (other than body hair removal), crossdressing (mounting up oneself) as strategy (clothes, wigs, etc. ). Naked body less displayed. Verdadeiras – different levels of body modifications (body hair removal, surgeries, hormones and silicone injections, natural hair). Naked body more displayed. The question of beautification – beautification as feminization and hyper-femininity. Non-linear connections between this difference and identities/subjectivities. Identities – overlap and complexity n n n Montadas as contextual Crossdressers – Gay Men who mount themselves up as female exclusively for sex-work or shows (drag-queening), but who while working are not treated as men even by other travestis. Montadas as early stages potential Verdadeiras – mounting up as a more or less permanent strategy of self-presentation, often leading to body modifications. Verdadeiras and the chaos of identity: p p p p Non exclusive identities – gender or sexual. Search for a transsexuality diagnosis (E. : “I’m not a Travesti! I’m Trans… I’m Gender Identity!”). Dreams of Femininity and of Family Life Legal Sex Identity The conundrum of genital surgery and the acceptance of the penis, but also how conformity is not a good concept The lost ones (for research!) – the ones who loose the penis (or the ones that revert body modifications) Subjectivities intersect and juxtapose, and are contextual

A diverse population (cont. ) p Interactions – ambiguities and contradictions n Between travestis – the agonic nature of interactions, often testing gender identifications. p p n With clients and partners p p n n n C. : “You think you are ever going to be a woman, with the dick you have between your legs? You think you can get pregnant, do you? ” (speaking to E. , who was then seeking a transsexuality diagnosis, that she has now obtained. C. herself possesses such a medical diagnosis and is legally a woman). Interactions tend to oscillate between emphasizing “failed” femininity dimensions (“Look at the beard she has!”) and conversely stressing “achieved” femininity dimensions (“I already have my diagnosis”; “They can’t put me in a male dormitory! Look at my tits and ass! I’m a Woman!”). Clients, even regular ones, are generally spoken of in very demeaning manners, particularly those who desire to assume receptive sexual positions. The humiliation of clients can often be an occasion for travestis to emphasize their virility, strength and functional penetrative penis. Partners – despite all the variety of situations (even more so if we take individual lifecourses into account), partners tend to be “very male” men, that is, young unqualified muscular men with the performativities of low class (and often criminal underworld) hegemonic masculinity. These boyfriends are often referred to as “husbands”, and with them many travestis adopt very stereotypical, almost traditional, feminine performativities. Many of these husbands cannot be described straightforwardly as pimps, but many do live on the financial outcomes of the travestis’ sex work. With other friendly people (including researchers!) – sexual teasing of men (straight or gay) and diminishing women’s sexual and bodily value. Done in a playful manner. With other unfriendly people (namely men) – insults and accusations of gayness. This is not merely a denouncement of a supposedly false femininity of travestis, but the reflex of contradictory gender positions in face of an overall binary gender order.

Sex Work p p Even if it is difficult to ignore the hardships of street prostitution, perspectives such as Kulick’s have tended to emphasize the empowering and pleasurable dimensions of travestis’ sex work. Prostitution, we contend, is has much more dimensions than the aforementioned, and is a site of opposing experiences: n n n p p On the one hand it is a source of revenue that would be difficult to obtain otherwise, namely given that travestis tend to have very low qualifications and stem from very low class origins (in fact, low class origins is almost an universal communality in travestis). Likewise it is a source of friendship, close-knitted support networks and sociability – and all of this has a nonnegligible impact on life-conditions and identity configurations. On the other hand, street prostitution is fraught with danger and potential violence and harassment (from clients, from the police, from passers-by). Likewise, the sexual acts themselves and clients are most often described through a language of disgust. Most travestis drink heavily while on the job and many are regular drug users. Many also acknowledge that they need alcohol and drugs to cope with sex-work. Travestis, even if presenting a playful attitude that makes their gathering for sex-work look like a party, also recognize, sometimes in the same moments, that most likely they will die young. In fact, during 2014 only, three of the workers of the Conde died: one form heart attack, other from Aids and the third from OD. Prostitution also produces the peculiarity of travestis’ bodies and subjectivities (“We are females with a penis!”), as the specific sexual market they cater to demands a penis – that is their surplus value in the prostitutional field.

Final Notes p p Travesti as a category and identity can be seriously problematic. Though united by sex work and the practices entailed, lives and subjectivities are plural, ranging from Mt. F transsexuals and transgender women to cross-dressed gay men, among other forms of self-identification that can juxtapose and overlap. Against reification and exoticization, the category travesti (as others) can be a misnomer, hiding the complex entanglements between the diversity found at the intersection of a vast number of factors and the common gendered position in the sex labour market. Travesti can be often taken as just a subjectivist identity when in reality it is more a descriptor of a contextual and objective position (in the sex labour market), which encompasses an enormous diversity and entanglement. It is not just an identity, not even for the sex workers who tend, in various conjugations, to resort to multiple terminologies when describing themselves (and their ‘job’).