The recognition and public appearance as determinants of health: dialogues with transsexual women and health workers

Abstract

Access to health and the elements of the trans population’s health-disease process are analyzed in this article based on Judith Butler’s Public Appearance and Recognition analysis categories. We started from the analysis of interviews with nine transsexual women and seven workers from the same Brazilian transgender health care from the Unified Health System (SUS). We argue that processes of discrimination and disrespect for the social name in health services are effects of policies that regulate the recognition and differentiate people and individuals as liveable lives, to be protected, and lives that may be lost without the protection of health services. These policies permeate the health-disease processes insofar as they modulate modes of existence based on hegemonic norms of living and existing in genders and sexualities, which can produce suffering and illness. Norms based on the cis heteropatriarchal and racist reference, which pathologize experiences not centered on whiteness as a norm, on heteronormativity, and on cisnormativity.