Espaço e as práticas do cuidado de si, na relação saúde/doença do corpo das travestis e mulheres transexuais em Curitiba e Ponta Grossa, Paraná

Abstract

This research has the central question of 'how does space compose self-care practices in the relationship between health and disease of transvestites and transsexual women in the cities of Curitiba and Ponta Grossa?'. From the central question, three sub-questions were branched out: 'how is the process of self-identification of transvestites and transsexual women?', 'how does the care of the body of transvestites and transsexual women occur in formal health spaces?', 'how are the practices performed of self-care in the health/disease relationship structured?'. Operationally, using the Snowball sampling technique, 20 people were interviewed who identified themselves as transvestites and transsexual women. They were accessed through previous contact with the Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO) Transgroup Marcela Prado (Curitiba/PR) and Renascer Group (Ponta Grossa/PR). For data collection, interviews were conducted based on a semi-structured interview script. The transcripts of the interviews were analyzed by the content analysis technique (BARDIN, [1977] 2016), which made it possible to systematize the interviews in 720 evocations, resulting in 15 discursive spatialities and 30 discursive categories. Discursive spatialities were grouped into 'body' (39%), 'health' (26%), 'home' (10%), 'city' (10%), 'work' (4%), 'formal education' (4%), 'ONG' (3%) and other spatialities (4%). The results obtained show that the process of self-identification of transvestites and transsexual women is troubled, and they constantly experience transvestiphobia and transphobia spatially in public and private spaces, such as in the family home, in school spaces, at work and in the city. When they become physically and/or psychologically ill, they seek to perform self-care in formal health spaces. However, they are not well received by health professionals who reproduce the heteronormative discourse, disqualifying their bodies and prohibiting access and/or permanence of formal health spaces. The interdiction of these spaces occurs based on disrespect for the social name, inadequate approach to their bodies and neglect of medical care. Thus, they (re)produce strategies that constitute social practices in self-care, external to formal health spaces. Given the context presented in this research, the body of transvestites and transsexual women is recognized as a space, which should be cared for by them or by friends who help them in the care of themselves. The practices that centralize the care of the body of transvestites and transsexual women are constituted from two perspectives: aesthetics and biological. In relation to aesthetics, the consumption of hormones and surgical interventions with 'pumpers' were verified. In biological care, transvestites and transsexual women reported that they practice self-care by prioritizing healthy eating, physical exercise practices, regulating sleep hours, as well as searching the Internet and/or asking some friends suggestions for teas, ointments, massages, etc., to relieve pain or some pathological malaise. Therefore, it is suggested that the Ordinances, which guarantee adequate care for transvestites and transsexual women in formal health spaces, come to laws, as well as it becomes imperative to develop public policies that ensure the citizenship of transvestites and transsexual women in society.