Unlimited Gender: The Discursive Construction of the Travesti Identity Through the Manipulation of the Grammatical Gender System

Abstract

This study investigates Southern Brazilian traveestis’ manipulation of the Portuguese grammatical gender system. During field work, it was verified that feminine forms are the preferred choice in the group. However, ideological and bodily tensions that surround travestis seem to force them to make use of masculine forms in specific discursive contexts. Travestis use masculine forms 1) to produce narratives about the time before their body modifications took place; 2) to report speech produced by others when talking about transvestites; 3) to talk about themselves within their family relationships; and 4) to distinguish themselves from ‘other’ travestis they do not identify with. Thus, the study shows how Southern Brazilian travestis use the Brazilian Portuguese grammatical gender system as a resource to manipulate their identities and the identities of the community they belong to.