Sexuality is central to travesti self-perception. In his interviews with travestis, Kulick (1998) found that an attraction to men is recurrently attributed as a leading cause of becoming a travesti (Kulick, 1998:96). Thus, travesti subjectivity in Brazil is based on two crucial sexual narratives: the first narrative consists of feeling like a woman due to a sexual attraction to men, and the second narrative resists sex change due to sexual attraction by men. Transgender individuals, for example, define themselves by an innate gendered essence that is independent of their physical body. Travesti individuals, however, define themselves by the nature of the physical body (male), with femininity transpiring through a set of acquired attributes
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According to Parker (1991), the diversity of cultural systems in Brazil is one of the leading factors in shaping the sexuality of Brazilian individuals (Parker, 1991:110), and travestis are no exception. These multiple cultural frameworks express not a single sexual reality, but a set of multiple realities; there exist a variety of different homosexualities, not just a single and unified homosexuality. Take, for example, the aforementioned notions of activo and pasivo in a homosexual relationship. As Carrillo (2002) highlights, notions of activo and pasivo are directly correlated to behaviors of dominance and submission and function as expressions of machismo and dominant male power (Carrillo, 2002:80). In several cultures, sexual relations are deeply tied to the submissive/dominant binary and to food imagery. In his ethnography, Kulick (1997) found that this binary is very much present in travesti sexual encounters: there are those who comem (those who eat) and those who dão (those who give). The act of penetration occupies a transformative force in that it holds the power to determine whether one consumes or is consumed; whether one is dominant or submissive (Kulick, 1997:510). Furthermore, the way a man behaves during the sexual act defines whether he is a true homosexual—that is, if penetrated anally, he is a homosexual, but if he penetrates another man …show more content…
Yet, as Kulick (1997) found, travestis do not position themselves within the guidelines of a third sex or gender, preferring instead to fit the standards of male and female binaries (Kulick, 1997:580). However, travestis also do not identify themselves as transgender. The difference between these non-normative conceptions of gender and sexuality is found at the core of their identities: while travesti individuals define themselves by their sexual preferences, transgender individuals are defined by the anatomy of their sex and how it manifests in their gender performativity (Firmino, 2008:410). Thus, within the travesti experience, the two traditional gender configurations—male and female—do not escape their binarism and continue to influence performativity, sex, gender, and sexuality. The one who penetrates is a man, and the one who is penetrated is either a woman or a viado (Kulick, 1998:81). Ultimately, sexuality—and, more specifically, the act of penetration—is one of the most crucial components when determining gender status in travesti sexual
According to Parker (1991), the diversity of cultural systems in Brazil is one of the leading factors in shaping the sexuality of Brazilian individuals (Parker, 1991:110), and travestis are no exception. These multiple cultural frameworks express not a single sexual reality, but a set of multiple realities; there exist a variety of different homosexualities, not just a single and unified homosexuality. Take, for example, the aforementioned notions of activo and pasivo in a homosexual relationship. As Carrillo (2002) highlights, notions of activo and pasivo are directly correlated to behaviors of dominance and submission and function as expressions of machismo and dominant male power (Carrillo, 2002:80). In several cultures, sexual relations are deeply tied to the submissive/dominant binary and to food imagery. In his ethnography, Kulick (1997) found that this binary is very much present in travesti sexual encounters: there are those who comem (those who eat) and those who dão (those who give). The act of penetration occupies a transformative force in that it holds the power to determine whether one consumes or is consumed; whether one is dominant or submissive (Kulick, 1997:510). Furthermore, the way a man behaves during the sexual act defines whether he is a true homosexual—that is, if penetrated anally, he is a homosexual, but if he penetrates another man …show more content…
Yet, as Kulick (1997) found, travestis do not position themselves within the guidelines of a third sex or gender, preferring instead to fit the standards of male and female binaries (Kulick, 1997:580). However, travestis also do not identify themselves as transgender. The difference between these non-normative conceptions of gender and sexuality is found at the core of their identities: while travesti individuals define themselves by their sexual preferences, transgender individuals are defined by the anatomy of their sex and how it manifests in their gender performativity (Firmino, 2008:410). Thus, within the travesti experience, the two traditional gender configurations—male and female—do not escape their binarism and continue to influence performativity, sex, gender, and sexuality. The one who penetrates is a man, and the one who is penetrated is either a woman or a viado (Kulick, 1998:81). Ultimately, sexuality—and, more specifically, the act of penetration—is one of the most crucial components when determining gender status in travesti sexual