Navego pelas águas amazônidas da trans-form-ação: ideações e tentativas de suicídio em homens trans e pessoas transmasculinas

Abstract

The World Health Organization reported that more than 700,000 people die by suicide annually worldwide. In Brazil, there were 112,230 deaths by suicide between 2010 and 2019. Between 2015 and 2019, 983 deaths by suicide were registered in Amazonas. In 2022, most suicide cases occurred with trans men and transmasculine people. Studies suggest that people who experience transmasculinity are at greater risk of suicidal ideation and attempts. Although suicide has historically been considered a deviant conduct that must be treated and combated through control, diagnosis, and prevention strategies, existential phenomenology understands suicide as an existential possibility and invites us to abandon the moralizing perspectives that naturalize it. This study aimed to understand the experiences of suicidal ideations and attempts in the reports of trans men and transmasculine people in the light of Maurice Merleau-Ponty's phenomenology. Qualitative research was used based on the phenomenological research method in psychology, through self-portrait and phenomenological interviews. The research was carried out after prior approval by the Research Ethics Committee of the Federal University of Amazonas. Participants were 9 (nine) people who declared themselves in the transmasculinity spectrum, 7 (seven) who self-identified as trans men, 1 (one), self-declared transmasculine, and 1 (one) self-declared a non-binary transmasculine person, living in the city of Manaus-AM. The interviews took place through the virtual platforms Google Meet and Zoom. The analysis of the interviews followed the steps of the phenomenological method of research in psychology recommended by Amedeo Giorgi. It was concluded that there is a need to take a careful look at those who consider death as a possibility. In addition, it is necessary to deconstruct what has been placed on the suffering of trans people and deepen understanding of the lived experiences of this population, which are often perceived by the stigmatizing, prejudiced and universal bias.