Within the mirror of a transsexual woman: Unveiling issues on body adequacy aesthetics

Abstract

The article seeks to present the process of body improvement among transsexual women in the search for adequacy to the gender to which they identify. From the use of hormones and industrial silicone, bodies are built with the aim of achieving “passability” 1 as markers of the female gender. However, when seeking such improvement, the starting point is from clinically healthy bodies, even if psychologically questioned by the women themselves, to a continuous process of illness to the detriment of the processes and products used. Ethnography was used as a methodology, as it is the method of anthropology. By presenting two ethnographic accounts, the author hopes to take the reader at the places in which these bodies are transformed, and the main issues brought to the daily life of these women