A travesti pinta o rosto pra viver?: As vivências das trabalhadoras do sexo na cidade de Manaus

Abstract

The dissertation presents the discussion about the experiences of sex workers, with the target public of transvestites. The importance of the study is justified, because it provides reflections on sex work, clarifying characteristics when discussing gender issues and their details. The objective of the research was to analyze objective and subjective conditions in the sexual work, as well as to understand how women workers experience homosexuality, transvestites, and understand if sex work allows some kind of emancipation. The methodological procedures had a qualitative character and the case study was chosen, since these are current issues. Made through semi-structured interviews and socioeconomic profile. The results of the analysis showed that the transvestite enters the sex work, due to lack of opportunity in the labor market, but when inserted, seek a better living condition through the activity, providing autonomy and financial independence. It was pointed out that there are factors that make emancipation difficult, such as the lack of job recognition and, especially, violence suffered by transvestites, causing great sadness and suffering, or suffering aggression or witnessing the murders of co-workers. It was noticed that the regulation of sex work in Brazil is still far from ideal, since the problem must be understood as a public health issue. It was also highlighted that the transvestites' bodily transformation has a direct impact on the work, because the more female attributes, the more clients. In addition to the aspects about sex work, travestis go through several cases of life-long prejudices, marked in parallel, the search for identity construction. Finally, the female sex transvestite could exercise the activity fully, if she lowered the rates of aggression and had a regulation of sex work in Brazil, as they do in other countries with Holland and Spain.