Abstract:
This study aimed to know how transvestites and transsexuals negotiate with institutionalized spaces of health and the practices they understand as promoting their health. Interviews with two transvestites and two transsexuals were conducted in the city of Fortaleza (Ceará, Brazil), addressing themes like local, form and difficulties of receiving medical care when ill, practices of corporal transformation among others. The information was discussed from a Foucauldian perspective and a critical theory of gender. We observed that the participants production of health is generally associated with the construction of a beautiful female body, even when it implies refusing medical prescription and personal risk. We conclude that transvestites and transsexuals’ main demands for health move away from practices of medical care offered by State agencies which have adopted a binary notion of sex/gender in their actions.
Key words:
Health; Body; Gender; Travestites; Transsexuals