Hoje estou a pôr um pó, amanhã é um batom: um estudo sobre o processo de construção da identidade das mulheres transgéneros na cidade e província de Maputo

Abstract

In the present study, we discuss the identity of transgender women in Maputo city and province. The aim of the study was to understand the factors that influence the construction process of that identity. To achieve our pretensions, we used a qualitative approach in which we applied in-depth interviews to 8 transgender women. Theoretically, from Stuart and Butler, we understood that there was a set of historical, social, cultural and subjective factors that contributed to the construction and deconstruction of the identities of the subjects. In this sense, the process of identity construction of women is influenced by these factors. However, this means that to inculcate gender roles to individuals through socialization does not necessarily imply that the identification process will occur. Therefore, it is necessary to take into account the subjective aspects involving the subjects and the relationship that they establish with others in their daily life. As results, the study found that there was a set of internal factors (the beginning of identification in childhood, sexuality, positive attitude, the need to reveal oneself, the experience of identity disclosure, the learning process and overcoming prejudice) and external (the acceptance/ denial of the identity of transgender women by their parents, leaving home, the spaces of sociability and the role of Lambda) that influence the construction of this identity. In this sense, the results allowed us to conclude that, while the internal factors drove the desire to be a transgender woman, the external factors acted as a motor to drive this process.