Abstract
This paper discusses the concepts of borders and urbanities based on individuals and collectivities that circulate in the margins of cities and form the fabric of the so-called sex market; they may identify themselves (but not necessarily) as travestis and transsexual women. This reflection is part of an ongoing survey linked to the Urban Anthropology Center of the University of São Paulo, whose purpose is to establish a multi-sited ethnography in two regions of Brazil: the metropolitan area of João Pessoa, in the state of Paraíba, and the triple frontier in the Amazon region between Brazil, Peru and Colombia. Based on the circulation of transgender people in the margins of cities, this study is an attempt to understand the kind of urban models that emerge from these liminal experiences, which shift between spatial, physical and symbolic boundaries. This investigation suggests the need to rethink the field of city anthropology in Brazil by taking as its basis the models of urban forms that allow for intersections between countryside and city, forest and metropolis, outskirts and downtown.
Key-words:
transsexuals; cities; borders; sex; urban