Life after sexual reassignment surgery: Significance for gender and transsexuality

Abstract

The Transsexualization Process is the main service directed to trans-specific health in Brazil, which provides services such as hormone therapy and sexual reassignment surgeries to the trans population. In this article, the significance surrounding the surgical procedure, the new genitalia, gender and transsexuality among women who underwent sexual reassignment surgery at the Cassiano Antônio de Moraes University Hospital (HUCAM), located in Vitória, Espírito Santo State, Brazil, was analyzed. Qualitative research was carried out, narrative interviews were recorded, and thematic content analysis was performed. The sample was composed of 9 participants selected by snowball sampling. The conclusion drawn is that the surgeries are related to the search for the humanization of bodies. The comprehension about being a woman was not limited to a biological status for gender. Transsexuality was presented as a transitional experience between genders. The sexual reassignment surgery was seen as a strategy of corporal correction in line with expectations about social relationships in gender by participants, the success of which is evaluated from the standpoint of beauty, pleasure and passability.