Transgender movement in belo horizonte: Preserving the past and mapping the present

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to contribute to the study of the transgender movement in Brazil, focusing on the city of Belo Horizonte. Despite considerable academic production about trans people in Brazil, there are few studies on the transgender movement in the country, and even fewer about the local context of Belo Horizonte. If it is not recorded, there is a risk of losing the history of the movement in this city, which is routinely passed on orally by older travestis and transgender women. Therefore, this study aims to recover the history of the movement in the city and map the present, identifying the main: A) organizations and groups in the transgender movement that are currently active; b) demands of the movement; c) strategies and tactics of action used by these organizations; and d) the partnerships and alliances they form. The study was conducted through interviews with five activists from the movement in Belo Horizonte.