Abstract

This work aims to discuss the experience of transvestites in the Brazilian penitentiary system, based on a survey carried out at the Juíz Plácido de Souza Penitentiary, in the city of Caruaru, eastern Pernambuco. It stems from the realization of the growth of this social group in the context of deprivation of liberty, as well as from the transphobic nature of the prison and hence from the accentuation of the suffering of the population of transvestites. The discussions presented are embedded in social psychology and aim, from the identification of socially vulnerable situations, to identify the challenges to guarantee the rights of this population, including the contributions of psychology and problematizing the role of the psychologist in jail. The research is qualitative, structured in four stages: I) Choice of transvestites to conduct interviews; II) conduction of interviews; III) characterization of the sociodemographic profile of the population; and IV) observation of institutional everyday life. The data obtained evidenced the experience of jail as an amplifier of the violence and violations suffered outside prison. And they pointed to the need of expanding studies on gender, especially those aimed at transvestites and/or transsexuals, making intersections with contexts such as jail, their life history, race, and indicators of violence. Questions about the reproduction of a biologizing model, centered on the medical logic, excluding and individualistic, belongs to psychology. At the same time, the call for greater attention to the intersectional demands and the commitment to face social inequalities, especially those of gender.

Transvestites; Identity; Genre; Prison; Psychology