When Invisibility Is Impossible

Abstract

The main goal of this article is to analyze the relationship involving subjectivity, embodiment, and labor activity among travestis and transsexuals. We recognize that bodies are invested by various discourses and power relations, which produce normal and abnormal bodies in society, establishing the intelligibility of the body through gender categories. Beyond that, the body is an active element in the production of one’s subjectivity. Transgender people are considered abnormal in the binary gender matrix of intelligibility, which makes them more susceptible to be stigmatized, discriminated, and socially excluded. As for labor, it has been observed that the bodies of travestis and transsexuals may represent an obstacle for the obtaining of formal jobs.