10 8 RQ Travesti - Assigned weekly reading quiz answers PDF

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10/8 RQ Travesti

1. What is the argument that Kulick says he will make in this book? What view is he arguing against? What types of scholarly work does he draw on and, more importantly, what views of sex and gender have been put forward in this work? -Kulick says he wants to show that prostitution and body modification performed by the Travestis are not the sad delusions of confused individuals, they are in fact that these practices are all reasonable or comprehensible in the context of the social and cultural world in which the travestis grew up and lived their lives. Essentially he is trying to show that the practices of travestis are not as outlandish as they are made out to be when you analyze their day to day lives and understand what factors influence them to act this way. -Kulick argues against the view that travestis are inverting the roles of males and females by grafting female attributes onto male bodies. Kulick believes instead that travestis elaborate the particular configurations of sexuality, gender, and sex that undergird and give meaning to Brazilian notions of man and woman. They crystallize and perfect what it means to be a specific gender -Kulick draws on the works of ethnomethodologically grounded scholars who argue that transgenderism is not a natural form, rather it is something that one must work towards and arises as a result of specific social contexts. -Kulick also draws on feminist and historical writings that argue that biological sex is itself a gendered notion, dependent on culturally generated notions of difference for its meaning and ability to seem natural. -Kulick presents the view that gender is not grounded solely in biological sex. This allows us to explore the travestis gendered practices without bringing with us our preconceived notions about biological men and women. This ultimately serves the purpose of allowing us to ask the question: what do travesti practices tell us about the ways in which gender is imagined and configured in brazilian society? 2. Where do the travesti who Kulick worked with live? What are their living conditions like? How big are their “cubicles”? What do they pay for them? What keeps travestis in these conditions? -They live in Salvador, Brazil. They live in extremely humble and poor conditions. They live in 3x4 meter cubicles with very poor conditions such as insect infestation, deterioration, and failing water and electricity. Sao Francisco Street. They pay between 35 and 55 reais a week for rent. They stay in these conditions because they wont be accepted as tenants anywhere else. Landlords are free to charge them the highest rate per meter of room because they know the travestis do not have another choice of place where they will be accepted to live much less be able to “work” in.

3. What are some of the hazards of travesti life? Why is it desirable for travesti to raise enough money to buy a house? -Hazards: AIDS, police brutality, assassination, discrimination, crime, unfairly high rent, health issues that arise from silicone injection -Landlords can squeeze money from travesti tenants because if they don't pay or complain, then they will be kicked out. They know that they will not be accepted as a tenant in another part of the city. This is why buying a house is better. Police Brutality. -Courts and the law are very lenient when it comes to crimes committed against travestis even when they are murdered. -The military police are the most threatening towards travestis, they rob them, force them to have sex with them, assault or murder them -Police tortued them, beating them, forcing them to kiss, forcing them to fight etc. -Some travestis engaged in se cortar (cutting oneself) because splattering blood on the policeman would cause them to flee for fear of HIV infection. They would carry razorblades on their person constantly for this purpose. -The media also portrays travestis as vicious armed drug addicted AIDS spreading criminals who lure innocent men into dangerous situations and assault them -It is very important for a travesti to raise enough money to buy a house bc after they have passed their prime years and can no longer have clients, they turn to renting out space in their house as a form of income. Having a house gives them financial security in the future

4. What are relations between travesti like? What motivates this mode of interaction? -Telenovelas inform their view of the stereotypical view of what a woman is/how she acts -They talk loudly to each other about lives/adventures, the beauty and ugliness of each other, perform intimate grooming on each other, and call each other homosexuals and fags. Ask each other for advice and hang out. Gossip and steal from each other. The reason for this is because they are in competition with each other and feel like the others dislike. -Ask for help injecting silicone, help each other rob clients, share knowledge about drugs to help them stay healthy -Despite all the close interaction, travestis actually distrust each other. This is because they also gossip about each other, steal boyfriends, rob each other, be violent towards each other to stave off competition in their corner (sulfuric acid was even used as a weapon) -This mode of interaction is motivated by the fact that the travestis grew up in a violent

world that gives them nothing, they feel like they must snatch every opportunity to better themselves even if it means betraying those who have helped them. They also adopt an attitude of mistrust toward other travestis bc that is the view of society on travestis. Finally, competition is another factor that motivates this interaction, The travestis live in an appearance driven world so they are always in constant competition with each other to be the most beautiful so they can attract more clients. Travesti culture is an individualistic youth culture centered on attraction, sex appeal and femininity. 5. How are travesti accounts of their early lives different from those found in North American and European memoirs of transgenderism? What are their early sexual experiences like? What pleasure do they recount deriving from these experiences? -North American and European transgenderism deny wanting to have sex with a member of the same sex as their motivation for changing sex. They insist that gender is the central reason for their switch. This is the opposite of travesti accounts who cite early erotic feelings for males as the reason they considered themselves travestis. -They are different because the men have an erotic interest in same sex as a motivating force in their perception as transgendered. Transexualism is about gender, not about sexuality in NA and Europe. Like to do girl things and have sex with men. They have enjoyment from their male encounters but painful. -Travestis knew from an early age that they were attracted to men. They also usually begin by acting effeminate (playing with dolls)/or fulfilling female roles (playing the mother in plays/games) -The early sexual experiences of the travestis are similar in that they occur at young ages (7-13) and usually involve much older partners. The male partners had no interest in the pleasure of the travestis. The travestis are not asked whether they are the ones who penetrate or get penetrated, they are just assumed to be the ones that get penetrated by the older male. The travestis say their first experiences are very painful, but they come back again and again because they want to do it and are curious. -Travestis do not often achieve orgasm from being penetrated, especially not when they were younger with their first few partners, The pleasure of anal penetration is not directly or immediately sexual for them. 6. Why is it a problem for travestis that the female hormones they ingest make it difficult for them to achieve erection? -The hormones make is difficult to achieve an erection which is bad because some of the travestis clients actually want to be penetrated, therefore not being able to get an erection causes them to lose clients.

7. How do travestis modify their bodies? Why do they say they do so? Why do they adopt female names, clothing, hairstyles, and bodily practices? What “cultural ideals” are they trying to realize? -Travestis, in addition to taking hormones that modify their bodies in a more natural way, inject silicone (2-5 liters) into their buttocks, thighs, breasts and hips. -In Brazil, the image of beauty/attractiveness focuses not on female breasts like America and Europe do, but instead the “bunda” (buttocks) is what is seen as the desirable trait in a woman. Thus, the travestis are trying to achieve this attractive tear drop shaped bunda by injecting silicone into their bodies. -The travestis say they do it because they want to mold their bodies to be more feminine and woman-like. This is not because the feel themselves to be women! Travestis believe they are not women and can never actually be women because God created them male. Travestis say removing the penis removes all sexual pleasure and also leads to insanity and thats why they never consider sex change operations. -There are two main reasons that travestis modify their bodies. First, they need to make their body desirable to other men on the sexual market in order to get clients that will pay them. Second, they modify themselves because it makes them feel more “feminine” “like a woman”. They like to be beautiful and admired. -They adopt female clothes, names, and practices because doing so helps them attract males that in turn desire them which makes them feel more like a real woman. Travestis care about the aspects of women life such as vanity, jealousy, gossip which are all things that males pretending to be women can achieve. -In the eyes of a travesti, being a “woman” means having a specific appearance, behavior, and relationship to males. All of these things are things that travestis can acquire with effort and thats why they go through all these processes of changing their bodies. -Travesti modify their bodies by injecting industrial silicone into their hips, thighs, breasts, and butts. They do this in order to make their bodies look more feminine, not trying to change sex because they were born as men. They do this because of the desirability of the female body on the sexual market(earn more money) and feel like a mulherissima 8. In travestis’ relationships with boyfriends, who generally provides whom with material goods? Why do they do this? Why are they worth all of the expense? -Travestis provide their boyfriends with all kinds of gifts (drugs, money, presents). They do this because they want to keep their boyfriends happy so that they will continue to make them feel desired like a woman and also so that they do not cheat on them with another travesti. They are worth all of this expense because having a boyfriend who makes them feel like a mulherissima (total woman) is very important to a travesti because they desire in life to be like a woman.

-Travestis know that their boyfriend will never fall in love with them so they do not try to seduce their men with sex appeal, instead they just give them money and material goods to get the men to like them. Boyfriends of travestis only stick around for these gifts and so if they are offered better by someone else they are quick to leave their current travesti -Travestis also like to give their boyfriends gifts because it gives them a sort of power over them. The boyfriend does not want to lose the gifts so he becomes submissive to the travesti and since travestis are usually the ones being degraded, they enjoy this feeling of power over someone else especially.

9. Keila says, “A travesti doesn’t get attached to anyone for sex, because a travesti doesn’t need a boyfriend to cum.” What, then, are boyfriends good for? What do they offer a travesti? Why might it be that travestis proudly proclaim that their boyfriends aren’t allowing them to do something: “I can’t wear short skirts, I can’t wear off-theshoulder blouses because they show my breasts, I can’t go to any parties, he won’t let me go to the beach…” -Boyfriends make travestis feel like women, which is what they desire. They offer to a travesti the ability to be penetrated by someone considered manly because they do not themselves “give their ass”. -Boyfriends are good because they make the travesti feel like a woman, even though they are men. The travesti want to feel like a mulherissima and have a boyfriend and money and also be jealous of others. They proudly proclaim these things because the boyfriend is making the travesti be a not male. -The travesti are proud when their boyfriend does not let them go out because it shows that their boyfriend views them as attractive, so attractive in fact that they believe other men will try to take them for their own if they go out. The boyfriend likes what he has and does not want to lose the travesti. This makes the travesti feel desired like a beautiful woman. 10. What distinction is Kulick drawing between being “a male” and being “a man”? How does one “ritually” enact manhood? How does one “ritually” enact femininity? Why is sex with a boyfriend who is a viado a problem for travestis? What is dar o cu? What is the transformative effect of this “ritual”? -Being considered a male is something that comes from just being biologically male, being a man is something you attain by your desires and actions. A man desires women and he proves that he is a man by his sexual practices with women by being the one that penetrates them, never being the one penetrated, doing that would be a relinquishment of his manhood.

-One ritually enacts manhood by fulfilling the role of penetrator in sex. -One ritually enacts femininity by “dar o cu” (giving their ass) by being penetrated by a man during sex -Sex with a viado is a problem for travestis because the reason travestis have boyfriends is because they achieve femininity by being penetrated by a man. They cannot achieve this feminine status when they are having sex with a viado because a viado is not a real man since he has relinquished his manhood when he gave his ass. -Dar o cu = to give your ass. This is the practice of presenting your ass for penetration by a mans penis -This ritual turns the penetrator into a man and the penetrated into a woman. “They don’t get sex from their men, they get gender”...