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The Chicago Series on Sexuality, Gender, and Culture
Travesti: Sex, Gender, and Culture among Brazilian Transgendered Prostitutes
In this dramatic and compelling narrative, anthropologist Don Kulick follows the lives of a group of transgendered prostitutes (called travestis in Portuguese) in the Brazilian city Salvador. Travestis are males who, often beginning at ages as young as ten, adopt female names, clothing styles, hairstyles, and linguistic pronouns. More dramatically, they ingest massive doses of female hormones and inject up to twenty liters of industrial silicone into their bodies to create breasts, wide hips, and large thighs and buttocks. Despite such irreversible physiological changes, virtually no travesti identifies herself as a woman. Moreover, travestis regard any male who does so as mentally disturbed.
Kulick analyzes the various ways travestis modify their bodies, explores the motivations that lead them to choose this particular gendered identity, and examines the complex relationships that they maintain with one another, their boyfriends, and their families. Kulick also looks at how travestis earn their living through prostitution and discusses the reasons prostitution, for most travestis, is a positive and affirmative experience.
Arguing that transgenderism never occurs in a "natural" or arbitrary form, Kulick shows how it is created in specific social contexts and assumes specific social forms. Furthermore, Kulick suggests that travestis —far from deviating from normative gendered expectations—may in fact distill and perfect the messages that give meaning to gender throughout Brazilian society and possibly throughout much of Latin America.
Through Kulick's engaging voice and sharp analysis, this elegantly rendered account is not only a landmark study in its discipline but also a fascinating read for anyone interested in sexuality and gender.
Kulick analyzes the various ways travestis modify their bodies, explores the motivations that lead them to choose this particular gendered identity, and examines the complex relationships that they maintain with one another, their boyfriends, and their families. Kulick also looks at how travestis earn their living through prostitution and discusses the reasons prostitution, for most travestis, is a positive and affirmative experience.
Arguing that transgenderism never occurs in a "natural" or arbitrary form, Kulick shows how it is created in specific social contexts and assumes specific social forms. Furthermore, Kulick suggests that travestis —far from deviating from normative gendered expectations—may in fact distill and perfect the messages that give meaning to gender throughout Brazilian society and possibly throughout much of Latin America.
Through Kulick's engaging voice and sharp analysis, this elegantly rendered account is not only a landmark study in its discipline but also a fascinating read for anyone interested in sexuality and gender.
277 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1998
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611 people want to read
About the author
Don Kulick
19 books39 followersDon Kulick is Professor of Anthropology at the University of Chicago. His books include Travesti: Sex, Gender, and Culture among Brazilian Transgendered Prostitutes.
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July 9, 2011
Brazilians, on the rare occasions that they speak positively of travestis, those renowned gender-defying generators of much lurid modern folklore and commentary, will celebrate them as a particularly visible representation of societal inversion. While the nation relishes its alleged Carnival-esque ability to undermine and overcome its strict Roman Catholic heritage, Kulick suggests that travestis reinforce rather than invert the traditional cultural views on sex and gender. In his judgment, travestis should not be seen as an archetypal aberration, a distortional transcending of traditional norms that might be pointed to as an illustration of the exemplary paradoxical nature of Brazilian culture. Instead, he demonstrates how travesti life is consistent with and elaborative of the “particular configurations of sexuality, gender, and sex that undergird and give meaning to Brazilian notions of ‘man’ and ‘woman’”. Kulick’s major goal for this ethnography, then, is to answer this early-posed question: “What do travesti practices tell us about the ways in which gender is imagined and configured in Brazilian society?”
In satisfying this undertaking, Kulick is remarkably successful. Throughout the course of the ethnography, Kulick explores the construction of gender in greater Brazil through the experiential understanding of travestis. The gender of travestis themselves is decidedly female, but not for reasons of self-identification. Rather, this assessment is based on the act of sexual penetration, which “constitutes the interpretative framework that [travestis] draw on in order to be and to act, and in order to understand the being and action of others”. The penetrator/ penetrated dichotomy that carries so much importance for travestis is also fundamental to understanding gender in broader Brazilian society. As Kulick establishes, the penetrator is male and is generally considered heterosexual regardless of the sex of the person he is penetrating; the penetrated is thus female. While travestis are sometimes paid to penetrate clients, they never maintain relationships with boyfriends who want to be penetrated. These boyfriends are, by definition, no longer men because it is the sexual behavior that ultimately determines gender.
Kulick is not only interested in the ways in which travestis represent and crystallize gender and sex in Brazilian culture, however. He also seeks, in one of the most compelling aspects of the book, to explicate a people who have rarely (if ever) been accurately or fairly characterized in popular or anthropological studies. Travestis, despite their occasional glorification in popular culture or in the form of a particularly beautiful model (Roberta Close), are “one of the most marginalized, feared, and despised groups in Brazilian society”. They are frequently portrayed in the media as crazed, violent, and depraved. Kulick humanizes them, removing the sense of ‘otherness’ that is insurmountable for many. For example, he explains that religion is often important in travesti life: alters with a mix of Roman Catholic and Candomblé paintings and figures are positioned alongside pornography in their small apartments. Travestis remain impressively dedicated to their mothers, often saving up money to buy them a house even if relations have long been strained due to lack of acceptance of the travesti’s life and personal expression. Travestis date men, the overwhelming majority of whom are heterosexual in the Brazilian societal context, and as with their non-travesti counterparts, these relationships take up a good deal of their time, money, and energy.
After providing a background and context for the life of travestis in the large, unglamorous city of Salvador, Kulick explores Turnerian rites of passage in intimate detail. The reader is guided through the future travesti’s first childhood sexual encounter with a boy or a man, to whom the future travesti ‘gives’ (is penetrated) either orally or anally, and the commencement of prostitution which usually (though not always) coincides with the time at which the travesti begins dressing and arranging herself as a woman. The next rite of passage, in which the travesti begins to move from the liminal phase into full incorporation, is the process of ingesting exceptionally large doses of hormones, a practice often continued in spite of debilitating side effects. But most important, if only because the changes are irreversible, is the final travesti rite of passage: the injection of silicone. Kulick allocates no small amount of space to the Brazilian obsession with the female bunda—the ass. The ideal bunda is large and connected to conspicuous hips. Hormones, while helpful in filling out small breasts, feminizing the face, and decreasing body/facial hair, are powerless to provide an irresistible bunda. Thus, more drastic measures must be taken: the injection of industrial silicone directly into the soft tissue.
While this injection process, along with excessive hormone intake, can have deleterious health effects, and despite the fact that travestis do worry about these outcomes, they almost universally opt to be ‘pumped’. Because of the health dangers, the risks of failure (e.g. formation of an ill-shaped bunda), and the permanent effects of the process, it is with silicone injection that the power of the Durkheimian collective ritual is most clear. This is where the travesti commitment, her belief in the ideals of the travesti community, lead to a true sense of belonging. Since travestis seek to ‘perfect’ themselves as women and because the creation of an impressive bunda is the best means of doing so, silicone injection becomes a defining aspect of socialization: “Travestis all know exactly how much silicone other travestis have in their bodies, where they have it, when it was injected, by whom, and in what city”. Silicone is considered a “miraculous product” and is a “continual topic of conversation and commentary”, providing ample opportunity for compliment and criticism.
In a book full of fascinating anecdotes and nuanced insights, perhaps the most intriguing aspect is the revelation that travestis do not consider themselves to be women. Not only that, but they believe that anyone born as a man (i.e. with a penis) who identifies as a woman—let alone someone who considers removing and exchanging his/her genitals—is “suffering from a psychosis”. The belief system is surprising in that it runs directly counter to the prevailing American/European transgender belief that the gender one feels oneself to be is one’s true gender, and any subsequent physical changes made to conform to this feeling are irrelevant. In other words, one need not ‘transition’ from male-to-female or female-to-male cosmetically, hormonally, or surgically to be considered one’s deep-felt gender. As discussed above, however, gender for travestis and all Brazilians is ultimately determined by sexual behavior, a criterion that American/European transgender individuals would consider extraneous to their identity.
Somewhat less surprising, perhaps because it is made at a later stage in the book after having been hinted at in many other places, is the argument that travestis enjoy their sex work. It is not only the primary source of income, but also “a source of pleasurable and reaffirming experiences”. While it is true that travestis are often unable to hold down other jobs due to discrimination and a lack of legal protection, Kulick rejects the notion that the inevitability of travesti prostitution implies that it is necessarily demeaning, unenjoyable, and exploitative. This is not an easy argument to make, and to his credit, Kulick does an admirable job. But given the travestis’ lack of alternative options and because of the poverty that is always threatening, his conclusions seem problematic. Even if there are periods of joy, pleasure, and financial success, there are also many moments of police harassment, violent scraps, and robberies. By highlighting the positive aspects of prostitution and neutralizing some of the negative ones, specifically when describing situations in which the travesti is the thief and/or mugger, Kulick gives the impression that this type of scenario is less morally objectionable because of the inversion of the role of victim from prostitute to client.
While Kulick is correct to cast doubt on many historical anthropological views of prostitution as something that is inherently degrading and unpleasurable, he also seems overly-willing to grant weight to scenarios that appear to be exceptional or at least irregular. Travestis speak positively about being “admired”, “praised”, “applauded”, and “fulfilled” (in bed) by men—to be made “to feel like a woman”—usually in discussions of their relationships with boyfriends. And while these feelings can also be summoned in sex work scenarios, the stories that Kulick quotes give the impression of being memorable for their exquisitely rendered and remembered details—in other words, these are the exceptions that help make the rule more bearable. Kulick does not indicate whether he believes prostitution is an essential part of being a travesti, or, to approach it from another angle, if there could be a travesti future without prostitution.
Kulick also believes that his status as a gay man offered him a privileged glimpse of travesti life not as easily available to either straight men or to women. He notes that, when joining groups of travestis who were unknown to him, they “often nodded and relaxed noticeably” upon receiving an affirmative answer that he was also a viado (‘fag’). While his successes in befriending travestis and engaging in dialogue with them on any number of intimate and explicit topics might suggest his assumption of privilege was correct, he implicitly slights anthropologists of different orientation and gender, as well as the travestis themselves, in making this suggestion. It is particularly ironic that Kulick employs the same condescension here as those he chides in the introduction—the only two people he knew who had conducted ethnographic work with transgender people in Latin America. These two women “expressed doubts that [Kulick], as a man, would ever be able to gain access to and acceptance by travestis”. Kulick is giving neither travestis nor non-gay men enough credit if he believes that travestis would no longer feel comfortable “conversing about the topics—boyfriends, clients, big penises, hormones, and silicone—that most occupy their time” around other (non-gay male) anthropologists in his position. As a straight man who lived on the road for two months with two dozen gay and transgender activists, I am acutely aware of how being straight and male can initially lead to guardedness and apprehension on the part of those accustomed to abuse from members of my demographic. And I am just as aware that with time, time that any anthropologist in Kulick’s position would have, any barriers of the type mentioned by him are easily overcome with good will and genuine non-judgmental interest.
Such a minor criticism, however, should not deter anyone from seeking out this ethnography. Indeed, Kulick most often strikes just the right tone, one of outsider detachment that does not falsely belie his close friendships with the travestis who figure prominently in the narrative. His contribution and especially the challenges he poses to prevailing Western views of how the body figures in notions of gender and transgenderism are significant, particularly in regards to how sex practices can trump other considerations in defining gender. Most importantly, perhaps, Kulick’s blunt directness in describing daily travesti life and concerns, and his refusal to shy away from any bodily or sexual topic, brings travestis out of the tabloids and into the mundane realm of flesh and blood. If travestis are eventually to be viewed more favorably in Brazil, this will be due in no small part to the work of Kulick in exposing some gritty truths and debunking the flashy myths—in short, to have ‘de-othered’ travestis for those who may now recognize them as a people firmly rooted in Brazilian cultural conceptions of sexuality, gender, and sexual practices.
In satisfying this undertaking, Kulick is remarkably successful. Throughout the course of the ethnography, Kulick explores the construction of gender in greater Brazil through the experiential understanding of travestis. The gender of travestis themselves is decidedly female, but not for reasons of self-identification. Rather, this assessment is based on the act of sexual penetration, which “constitutes the interpretative framework that [travestis] draw on in order to be and to act, and in order to understand the being and action of others”. The penetrator/ penetrated dichotomy that carries so much importance for travestis is also fundamental to understanding gender in broader Brazilian society. As Kulick establishes, the penetrator is male and is generally considered heterosexual regardless of the sex of the person he is penetrating; the penetrated is thus female. While travestis are sometimes paid to penetrate clients, they never maintain relationships with boyfriends who want to be penetrated. These boyfriends are, by definition, no longer men because it is the sexual behavior that ultimately determines gender.
Kulick is not only interested in the ways in which travestis represent and crystallize gender and sex in Brazilian culture, however. He also seeks, in one of the most compelling aspects of the book, to explicate a people who have rarely (if ever) been accurately or fairly characterized in popular or anthropological studies. Travestis, despite their occasional glorification in popular culture or in the form of a particularly beautiful model (Roberta Close), are “one of the most marginalized, feared, and despised groups in Brazilian society”. They are frequently portrayed in the media as crazed, violent, and depraved. Kulick humanizes them, removing the sense of ‘otherness’ that is insurmountable for many. For example, he explains that religion is often important in travesti life: alters with a mix of Roman Catholic and Candomblé paintings and figures are positioned alongside pornography in their small apartments. Travestis remain impressively dedicated to their mothers, often saving up money to buy them a house even if relations have long been strained due to lack of acceptance of the travesti’s life and personal expression. Travestis date men, the overwhelming majority of whom are heterosexual in the Brazilian societal context, and as with their non-travesti counterparts, these relationships take up a good deal of their time, money, and energy.
After providing a background and context for the life of travestis in the large, unglamorous city of Salvador, Kulick explores Turnerian rites of passage in intimate detail. The reader is guided through the future travesti’s first childhood sexual encounter with a boy or a man, to whom the future travesti ‘gives’ (is penetrated) either orally or anally, and the commencement of prostitution which usually (though not always) coincides with the time at which the travesti begins dressing and arranging herself as a woman. The next rite of passage, in which the travesti begins to move from the liminal phase into full incorporation, is the process of ingesting exceptionally large doses of hormones, a practice often continued in spite of debilitating side effects. But most important, if only because the changes are irreversible, is the final travesti rite of passage: the injection of silicone. Kulick allocates no small amount of space to the Brazilian obsession with the female bunda—the ass. The ideal bunda is large and connected to conspicuous hips. Hormones, while helpful in filling out small breasts, feminizing the face, and decreasing body/facial hair, are powerless to provide an irresistible bunda. Thus, more drastic measures must be taken: the injection of industrial silicone directly into the soft tissue.
While this injection process, along with excessive hormone intake, can have deleterious health effects, and despite the fact that travestis do worry about these outcomes, they almost universally opt to be ‘pumped’. Because of the health dangers, the risks of failure (e.g. formation of an ill-shaped bunda), and the permanent effects of the process, it is with silicone injection that the power of the Durkheimian collective ritual is most clear. This is where the travesti commitment, her belief in the ideals of the travesti community, lead to a true sense of belonging. Since travestis seek to ‘perfect’ themselves as women and because the creation of an impressive bunda is the best means of doing so, silicone injection becomes a defining aspect of socialization: “Travestis all know exactly how much silicone other travestis have in their bodies, where they have it, when it was injected, by whom, and in what city”. Silicone is considered a “miraculous product” and is a “continual topic of conversation and commentary”, providing ample opportunity for compliment and criticism.
In a book full of fascinating anecdotes and nuanced insights, perhaps the most intriguing aspect is the revelation that travestis do not consider themselves to be women. Not only that, but they believe that anyone born as a man (i.e. with a penis) who identifies as a woman—let alone someone who considers removing and exchanging his/her genitals—is “suffering from a psychosis”. The belief system is surprising in that it runs directly counter to the prevailing American/European transgender belief that the gender one feels oneself to be is one’s true gender, and any subsequent physical changes made to conform to this feeling are irrelevant. In other words, one need not ‘transition’ from male-to-female or female-to-male cosmetically, hormonally, or surgically to be considered one’s deep-felt gender. As discussed above, however, gender for travestis and all Brazilians is ultimately determined by sexual behavior, a criterion that American/European transgender individuals would consider extraneous to their identity.
Somewhat less surprising, perhaps because it is made at a later stage in the book after having been hinted at in many other places, is the argument that travestis enjoy their sex work. It is not only the primary source of income, but also “a source of pleasurable and reaffirming experiences”. While it is true that travestis are often unable to hold down other jobs due to discrimination and a lack of legal protection, Kulick rejects the notion that the inevitability of travesti prostitution implies that it is necessarily demeaning, unenjoyable, and exploitative. This is not an easy argument to make, and to his credit, Kulick does an admirable job. But given the travestis’ lack of alternative options and because of the poverty that is always threatening, his conclusions seem problematic. Even if there are periods of joy, pleasure, and financial success, there are also many moments of police harassment, violent scraps, and robberies. By highlighting the positive aspects of prostitution and neutralizing some of the negative ones, specifically when describing situations in which the travesti is the thief and/or mugger, Kulick gives the impression that this type of scenario is less morally objectionable because of the inversion of the role of victim from prostitute to client.
While Kulick is correct to cast doubt on many historical anthropological views of prostitution as something that is inherently degrading and unpleasurable, he also seems overly-willing to grant weight to scenarios that appear to be exceptional or at least irregular. Travestis speak positively about being “admired”, “praised”, “applauded”, and “fulfilled” (in bed) by men—to be made “to feel like a woman”—usually in discussions of their relationships with boyfriends. And while these feelings can also be summoned in sex work scenarios, the stories that Kulick quotes give the impression of being memorable for their exquisitely rendered and remembered details—in other words, these are the exceptions that help make the rule more bearable. Kulick does not indicate whether he believes prostitution is an essential part of being a travesti, or, to approach it from another angle, if there could be a travesti future without prostitution.
Kulick also believes that his status as a gay man offered him a privileged glimpse of travesti life not as easily available to either straight men or to women. He notes that, when joining groups of travestis who were unknown to him, they “often nodded and relaxed noticeably” upon receiving an affirmative answer that he was also a viado (‘fag’). While his successes in befriending travestis and engaging in dialogue with them on any number of intimate and explicit topics might suggest his assumption of privilege was correct, he implicitly slights anthropologists of different orientation and gender, as well as the travestis themselves, in making this suggestion. It is particularly ironic that Kulick employs the same condescension here as those he chides in the introduction—the only two people he knew who had conducted ethnographic work with transgender people in Latin America. These two women “expressed doubts that [Kulick], as a man, would ever be able to gain access to and acceptance by travestis”. Kulick is giving neither travestis nor non-gay men enough credit if he believes that travestis would no longer feel comfortable “conversing about the topics—boyfriends, clients, big penises, hormones, and silicone—that most occupy their time” around other (non-gay male) anthropologists in his position. As a straight man who lived on the road for two months with two dozen gay and transgender activists, I am acutely aware of how being straight and male can initially lead to guardedness and apprehension on the part of those accustomed to abuse from members of my demographic. And I am just as aware that with time, time that any anthropologist in Kulick’s position would have, any barriers of the type mentioned by him are easily overcome with good will and genuine non-judgmental interest.
Such a minor criticism, however, should not deter anyone from seeking out this ethnography. Indeed, Kulick most often strikes just the right tone, one of outsider detachment that does not falsely belie his close friendships with the travestis who figure prominently in the narrative. His contribution and especially the challenges he poses to prevailing Western views of how the body figures in notions of gender and transgenderism are significant, particularly in regards to how sex practices can trump other considerations in defining gender. Most importantly, perhaps, Kulick’s blunt directness in describing daily travesti life and concerns, and his refusal to shy away from any bodily or sexual topic, brings travestis out of the tabloids and into the mundane realm of flesh and blood. If travestis are eventually to be viewed more favorably in Brazil, this will be due in no small part to the work of Kulick in exposing some gritty truths and debunking the flashy myths—in short, to have ‘de-othered’ travestis for those who may now recognize them as a people firmly rooted in Brazilian cultural conceptions of sexuality, gender, and sexual practices.
January 8, 2024
Muito muito muito bom!!!! É um trabalho realmente fantástico sobre as travestis de uma rua da margem-centro de Salvador. Don Kulick é um sueco:(, mas é gay:) e acho que não notei em nenhum momento um olhar colonizador ou algo do tipo por ele ser europeu. É de extrema sensibilidade e 80% do livro é literalmente ele deixando elas falarem sobre a realidade delas, se limitando a narrar o que ele observou e expor falas delas. É um trabalho historiográfico foda e com muitas referências brasileiras (ou seja, ele pesquisou bastante o cenário brasileiro pra poder falar com propriedade), além de ter convivido e morado com as travestis durante um ano!
Ao final (e em pequenos trechos ao longo do livro) ele faz uma análise da concepção de gênero elaborada por elas e como o ponto de vista privilegiado delas consegue captar que um dos pontos fundamentais das distinções de gênero no brasil se dá pela penetração sexual e não pelo "sexo biológico" (como é na Europa e nos EUA).
Claro que tem algumas coisas já ultrapassadas e que na época (1995) ainda eram comuns, mas mesmo assim é um livro que eu recomendo a todes!!!!!
Ao final (e em pequenos trechos ao longo do livro) ele faz uma análise da concepção de gênero elaborada por elas e como o ponto de vista privilegiado delas consegue captar que um dos pontos fundamentais das distinções de gênero no brasil se dá pela penetração sexual e não pelo "sexo biológico" (como é na Europa e nos EUA).
Claro que tem algumas coisas já ultrapassadas e que na época (1995) ainda eram comuns, mas mesmo assim é um livro que eu recomendo a todes!!!!!
February 8, 2016
Though I was intrigued when I came across this book, I felt a little apprehensive, largely because of some hang-ups I've come to have about the concept on ethnography in general. I knew that I was going into the experience of reading this book with a sort of voyeuristic awe at the shock value I perceived to be conveyed by the cover and title. My feelings of guilt were further solidified as I eagerly marveled over the descriptions of travestis injecting themselves with industrial silicone and attempting to win over macho vicios with money and gifts. As I continued reading, though, I was impressed by the author's ability to contextualize these behaviors and thus offer a humanizing, 3-dimensional portrait of a very stigmatized portion of the Brazilian population. Kulick explores the deeper meanings implied by the various measures travestis take in their desire to feminize themselves, and what that desire implies about the gender stereotypes and rigid, patriarchal social norms that actually encourage a male homosexual to transform into a travesti.
This is definitely a new favorite. Although the writing is a little academic at times, it's mostly really accessible and written in a very lively, colorful style that encourages readers to feel attached to the travestis telling their stories.
This is definitely a new favorite. Although the writing is a little academic at times, it's mostly really accessible and written in a very lively, colorful style that encourages readers to feel attached to the travestis telling their stories.
April 13, 2021
One of my favorite books. I re-read it often. Through an anthropological lens, this book is based upon the idea of a “third gender.” The concept of third gender is vastly different than the American binary of male and female. This book takes a peak into what a third, or as some may say “alternate gender” is all about in a different culture and society. This is the book that piqued my interest on multiple genders. In some societies, there are up to nine genders- their societal norm that is accepted and a way of life.
December 27, 2014
Muito interessante ver a visão de um antropólogo sueco sobre uma realidade de vivências trans que ele afirma serem praticamente exclusivas do Brasil: as travestis. Chamando o país de "uma sociedade de violência", após viver 8 meses com 13 travestis em Salvador, relata as vivências delas em meio à ojeriza de uma sociedade que não só as colocam à margem, mas as agridem fisicamente de maneira cotidiana. Com uma escrita fluida e sem grandes discussões teóricas, o livro passa a sensação de que estamos lendo um romance ou um relato, que nos carrega para a intimidade das suas personagens. Provavelmente o maior problema da obra seja justamente a falta de discussão sobre questões de gênero e sobre o que significa ser travesti nesse contexto. Autores e citações são problematizados literalmente nas últimas 15 páginas. Mas isso não diminui em nada a riqueza da obra.
May 26, 2015
What a great book to read. Very different than other ethnographies that I have read. I was assigned to read this book in a class I took at my university. I found myself really connecting with the individuals in the book just like I would if I was reading a novel. I rooted for them and felt despair for them just like any other story. I think Mr. Kulick did a wonderful job studying this culture and really enjoyed his work.
June 23, 2019
I read this for 'Sexual Anthropology' class back in my undergraduate days around 2005. Despite how awful that class, its professor, and most of its assigned reading were (you would think with a title like that such a class would be great but oh boy you would be wrong), this was the one book that stood out as interesting and engaging as a work of anthropology.
January 10, 2012
This book is taboo in almost every culture. I thoroughly enjoyed reading Don's experience and made me very open to the idea that events and people like this exist.
June 14, 2017
I give this book 5 stars because of its ease to read, although it will not be enjoyable for many readers as there is plenty of sex-talk, police torture stories, and pictures of backroom silicone injections (amongst other things). The astute reader, however, will appreciate the early emergence of the 'desire' paradigm, which is explicitly not about 'identity' and 'agency', offered by Kulick and Cameron a bit later. I think the book might be shocking to North American readers, despite Kulick's claim to avoid sensationalization. I had to ask myself constantly, "is this **actually** shocking in the Brazilian Travesti context, or only in my context while I sit in a nice apartment that has A/C (and no cockroach infestation, which are mentioned a couple times) in New York?"
August 12, 2023
Are travestis women? Are they a third gender? Are they men in dresses? Not exactly any of these, according to the ones Kulick lived among. (Though, I’d bet that travesti identity has changed a lot in the 25 years since the book’s publication in 1998.)
Kulick analyzes the subculture meticulously while skirting by the mired jargon that enfeebles so many other ethnographies. His work, though easy to understand, does not sacrifice depth. The book is charitable, unprejudiced, and thought-provoking in its investigation of a strife-ridden and persecuted subculture.
Kulick analyzes the subculture meticulously while skirting by the mired jargon that enfeebles so many other ethnographies. His work, though easy to understand, does not sacrifice depth. The book is charitable, unprejudiced, and thought-provoking in its investigation of a strife-ridden and persecuted subculture.
Read
March 2, 2024That book offers an in-depth and respectful exploration of the experiences of transvestites in Brazil. Through an empathetic lens, the author challenges stereotypes and offers an authentic vision of these communities marginalized. However, some might question the author's perspective as an outside observer. Overall, it is a valuable read for those seeking to understand the intersection of gender, sexuality, and culture in Brazil. I bought it thanks from a girl from this site https://travestisecret.com/travestis-...
August 4, 2018
Don Kulick does a wonderful job of integrating himself into the travesti community, and presenting information in a non-judgmental manner. His fieldwork seems to be lacking in diversity.
January 16, 2020
Parts were really interesting, and parts were quite dry
February 23, 2023
school readings <<<
but this was really insightful! not what i'd rlly pick up for myself but a nice change of pace. frustrating tho bc my prof is out for me
but this was really insightful! not what i'd rlly pick up for myself but a nice change of pace. frustrating tho bc my prof is out for me
August 16, 2023
Such an interesting and insightful read into the lives of people working as travestis in Brazil. I’m curious to read an updated version though as this was written in the 90s.
December 8, 2023
some outated lingo but it's from the 90s so not throwing the baby out with the bathwater in terms of what can be learned will write review later
December 23, 2023
Read for class
The book in itself and its discussions about gender and sexuality are interesting, but I have beef with the author about the general structure of the course and also his... male ego
The book in itself and its discussions about gender and sexuality are interesting, but I have beef with the author about the general structure of the course and also his... male ego
Read
December 10, 2024A fascinating ethnographic study of gender fluidity in Brazil. Read if you're interested in what gender is and how it is preformed by peoples in various cultures
April 13, 2011
I may just be lucking out with the anthropological books that I read, but each one has been amazing, Travesti by Don Kulick being no exception. The nuances of sex and gender are usually unknown to the common American, and the differences between the "trans" words, like transgender, transexual, and transvestite are oftentimes confused. In this book Don sheds light on a subculture of transgendered individuals who challenge even the basic understandings that we have on gender, and what he presents is written in an entirely approachable, rich way.
I'm sure many people would think that anthropological books, which are supposed to present facts and statistics, are dry, boring reads. After reading Travesti, I can say that Don presents the information he gathered through his extended time living with the Travesti of Brazil in a way not unlike an educated conversation with a friend. All of the facts that he gathered with the help of a Travesti acting as his translator and assistant are interesting, illuminating, and written in a way that someone without a background in anthropology would understand. One of the most interesting facets of this book are the transcribed conversations he's had with some travesti, and the pictures that he took during his stay.
So what is a Travesti, exactly? Don explains that it is a biological male who has always identified with feminine things, like makeup, dolls, and wanting to be desired by boys. They usually have erotic encounters with their male playmates as children, and after being penetrated, often move away from their judgmental homes to a big city that has a Travesti population. The biggest key to understanding a Travesti is that they are men who make themselves appear as females, so that they can obtain the sexual attention of heterosexual men. In one interview with Don, a Travesti explains that they understand they are male by biological definition, that God made them this way, but that they are only expanding upon his creation to "better" it (they make it very clear that they believe any male who thinks he is a female inside is mentally disturbed and should seek help). This female performance extends to growing out their hair, wearing feminine clothes, taking hormones, and getting silicone injections to make their hips, butts, and breasts larger and more feminine -- something that can easily baffle someone who hasn't had much exposure to the variety of gender and identity. Travesti are not "men who feel that they are really a female inside," but men who only want to appear feminine to match the needs of the men they are attracted to. Heterosexual men find women attractive, therefore Travesti make themselves appear female.
One thing to understand when going into this book is that the culture you come from is not the "right" culture. Cultures vary, and there is no "right" or "wrong" way to do things. Don presents the Travesti world from an insider's perspective, a way in which not many would be able to achieve. He was accepted into their lives and in return, he received a front row seat to their daily lives, their cares, worries, methods, and desires. Even the Brazilians, who are very conscious of the existence of Travesti, often speak of the subculture incorrectly.
Overall, this book is a fascinating read for those of an open and curious mind. I thoroughly enjoyed it, though caution potential readers to the fact that there is much frank talk. The information presented here is a "raw" look into a very real culture, and there is no beating around the bush with the facts.
I'm sure many people would think that anthropological books, which are supposed to present facts and statistics, are dry, boring reads. After reading Travesti, I can say that Don presents the information he gathered through his extended time living with the Travesti of Brazil in a way not unlike an educated conversation with a friend. All of the facts that he gathered with the help of a Travesti acting as his translator and assistant are interesting, illuminating, and written in a way that someone without a background in anthropology would understand. One of the most interesting facets of this book are the transcribed conversations he's had with some travesti, and the pictures that he took during his stay.
So what is a Travesti, exactly? Don explains that it is a biological male who has always identified with feminine things, like makeup, dolls, and wanting to be desired by boys. They usually have erotic encounters with their male playmates as children, and after being penetrated, often move away from their judgmental homes to a big city that has a Travesti population. The biggest key to understanding a Travesti is that they are men who make themselves appear as females, so that they can obtain the sexual attention of heterosexual men. In one interview with Don, a Travesti explains that they understand they are male by biological definition, that God made them this way, but that they are only expanding upon his creation to "better" it (they make it very clear that they believe any male who thinks he is a female inside is mentally disturbed and should seek help). This female performance extends to growing out their hair, wearing feminine clothes, taking hormones, and getting silicone injections to make their hips, butts, and breasts larger and more feminine -- something that can easily baffle someone who hasn't had much exposure to the variety of gender and identity. Travesti are not "men who feel that they are really a female inside," but men who only want to appear feminine to match the needs of the men they are attracted to. Heterosexual men find women attractive, therefore Travesti make themselves appear female.
One thing to understand when going into this book is that the culture you come from is not the "right" culture. Cultures vary, and there is no "right" or "wrong" way to do things. Don presents the Travesti world from an insider's perspective, a way in which not many would be able to achieve. He was accepted into their lives and in return, he received a front row seat to their daily lives, their cares, worries, methods, and desires. Even the Brazilians, who are very conscious of the existence of Travesti, often speak of the subculture incorrectly.
Overall, this book is a fascinating read for those of an open and curious mind. I thoroughly enjoyed it, though caution potential readers to the fact that there is much frank talk. The information presented here is a "raw" look into a very real culture, and there is no beating around the bush with the facts.
March 6, 2014
A fun and interesting read about Brazilian transgendered prostitutes that was completely unexpected. I assumed this book would be a completely factual re-encounter of Kulick's fieldwork in Brazil. What I unexpectedly discovered after the first couple of pages that this was not just factual it was caring, genuine and a light-hearted memoir of the unheard voices of these under privileged, under loved and sometimes hated people. Kulick noted throughout this book that previous studies on Travesti's were not done from the first person perspective, rather academics always took the "outside looking in" approach leaving holes in their ethnological reports.
Kulick lived with these people for many months, among the same living quarters, took the time to learn their language, walked with them on the streets, oversaw their practices of injecting silicone into their bodies to make themselves more feminine and the entire time made it completely empathetic and caring.
I enjoyed hearing the back-stories to some of the Travesti's and found that their upbringings and childhood sexual encounters were not what I would expect to see in an American setting. As adults he provided an in depth look into their relationships with men who are considered "not homosexual" by the public. He did not group the Travesti's like so many would assume they should be grouped into "they want to be women" but rather gave a serious personal perspective of these people on why they feel they are NOT women, nor do they want to be.
This was fascinating not only to read about such a complex sub-culture but also because you can really tell the author cared about the people he was portraying. While reading this I was sad during the hard times, laughed at the spunky attitudes of the Travesti's, shocked at some of their rituals and amazed that the entire time Kulick was there by their side as a friend and not just somebody trying to record their way of life. Wonderful!
Kulick lived with these people for many months, among the same living quarters, took the time to learn their language, walked with them on the streets, oversaw their practices of injecting silicone into their bodies to make themselves more feminine and the entire time made it completely empathetic and caring.
I enjoyed hearing the back-stories to some of the Travesti's and found that their upbringings and childhood sexual encounters were not what I would expect to see in an American setting. As adults he provided an in depth look into their relationships with men who are considered "not homosexual" by the public. He did not group the Travesti's like so many would assume they should be grouped into "they want to be women" but rather gave a serious personal perspective of these people on why they feel they are NOT women, nor do they want to be.
This was fascinating not only to read about such a complex sub-culture but also because you can really tell the author cared about the people he was portraying. While reading this I was sad during the hard times, laughed at the spunky attitudes of the Travesti's, shocked at some of their rituals and amazed that the entire time Kulick was there by their side as a friend and not just somebody trying to record their way of life. Wonderful!
May 27, 2023
oh man i have so many thoughts about this book. so first of all, i feel like i have to be honest and upfront and say that i DO NOT like anthropology, anthropologists, and ESPECIALLY white anthropologists. ethnographies continue to be thee worst research method possibly ever invented and i stand by this.
now with that out of the way, i thought this was a very interesting exploration of the lives of these individuals. i enjoyed the book. i never knew anything about travestis, and learning about them was fascinating. i would love to learn more about them and their lives because i love fags in any sense of the word (yes im gay do not come for me). overall, liked it. giving it three stars because im sick and tired of white people thinking they can go and do unethical shit and fucking get away with it, especially when dealing with an extremely vulnerable population like these people. sick and TIRED!!! yall fuckers admit with your whole chest of doing unethical shit and it's ridiculous. i hate it. there is no excuse. there is no debate. yall need to clean up your act. fuck anthropology.
now with that out of the way, i thought this was a very interesting exploration of the lives of these individuals. i enjoyed the book. i never knew anything about travestis, and learning about them was fascinating. i would love to learn more about them and their lives because i love fags in any sense of the word (yes im gay do not come for me). overall, liked it. giving it three stars because im sick and tired of white people thinking they can go and do unethical shit and fucking get away with it, especially when dealing with an extremely vulnerable population like these people. sick and TIRED!!! yall fuckers admit with your whole chest of doing unethical shit and it's ridiculous. i hate it. there is no excuse. there is no debate. yall need to clean up your act. fuck anthropology.
May 29, 2007
Kulick's honesty is probably the thing that makes this not just an anthropological tract but an excellent piece of non-fiction writing. Kulick is honest with the travesti with whom he lives, and he's honest with us about his life and how it might affect his perspective on the unusual situation in which he's placed himself. He writes with a maturity and understanding that gives him something better than social-scientific objectivity: the awareness of the inevitable subjectivity of his perspective. The stories he has to tell here in this sometimes shocking book are brash and bold and cast a big shadow. In that shadow is Kulick's own story, which feels just as interesting.
March 3, 2011
This is a really nicely balanced and respectful ethnography of a fascinating subculture in Brazil. I only wish the author had continued to embrace the subjects' own embodied paradox rather than trying to fit them into a concrete framework at the end, although he did it in an innovative and believable way.
March 23, 2010
I read this one for school and it was definitely one of the more interesting anthropology books I've read. I'd never heard of this subculture before and it was interesting to learn about. Some parts were a bit slow but I enjoyed most of it.
October 30, 2012
Gave pretty clear context of what Salvador is like in terms of how the city socially accepts to some point transvestis compared to surrounding areas in NE part of Brasil. Very similar conditions to the US.
January 3, 2017
As an anthropologist with an interest in sex and gender studies, this was both a great read educationally as well as academically. The stories were both entertaining and eye-opening. An added bonus was when I remarked to my grad school advisor that I had read the book and she called me a geek.
April 23, 2020
Dense read, but worth it. Eye-opening beyond words. Thankful for Kulick who put himself out there to present the public with this unbelievably well-researched, educational, but always entertaining, book.
May 19, 2007
brillante!!
August 19, 2007
Awesome book. Anthropology of Gender and sexuality professor wrote this, spent time in a travesti brothel in Brazil. Fascinating.
January 3, 2009
touching book. Read it for a Women's Studies course in college and just really felt for these "women."
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