Women, Power, and Agency
Don Kulick is an anthropologist who in the narrative follows the lives of a group of prostitutes in Brazilian city Salvador. According to the book ‘Travesti’ by Kulick, travestis are a group of younger men who emulate the living lifestyle of women. Travestis uses injections to develop hips and breasts just like women. Kulick analyzes the various ways used by travestis to ensure that their bodies resemble those of women. Travestis believe that women have power in life because of the feminine nature in women and therefore, they make all necessary efforts to resemble like women.
Travestis are interested in women nature, and they inject hormones in their bodies and industrial silicone to ensure that they possess wide hips, thighs, buttocks, and breasts to physically appear like women (Vartabedian, 2015). Travestis uses their female nature to earn their living through prostitution. The responses provided by travesties on their way of earning a living give the meaning of gender in the community. The way travestis socialize, and dress resembles that of women gender, but they are born as males. Travestis from the book is considered as a third gender and have been criticized for changing their gender (López, 2016). Despite trevestis been criticized, they socialize well with the other members of the society. Kulick reveals that travestis use their own language, which non-travestis cannot understand. Travestis are assigned male gender by birth, but they transform themselves into a female gender in order to earn their living.
In summary, travestis believe in the power of women, and that is the reason why they use injections to appear like women physically. Travestis have their own organizations in Brazil, and they are allowed in the community. Being born a male does not prevent travestis from achieving their goal of becoming women. Use of injections enables travestis to change their physical body appear exactly like that of the feminine gender.