This article reflects on violence committed against travestis, examining a series of murders of travestis, together with narratives regarding violence, to see where these events and stories lead, and to formulate related questions. Through this movement, the research develops such questions as: what are the motives behind the violence committed against travesties, and what do these motives tell us? If violence is expressive – in other words, if it tells us something – what is it saying? Can we talk about crimes as being gender-based? If so, how should we consider the relations between gender, sexuality, and violence? What desires are at play? And what do these events tell us about the concept of gender itself ?
Pedro Paulo Gomes Pereira
Professor Associado de Antropologia da Universidade Federal de São Paulo (Unifesp),
São Paulo, SP, Brasil