Abstract

ESTRADA-MONTOYA, John Harold  and  GARCIA-BECERRA, Andrea. Gender reconfigurations and vulnerability to HIV/Aids in transgender women in Bogotá, Colombia. Rev. Gerenc. Polit. Salud [online]. 2010, vol.9, n.18, pp.90-102. ISSN 1657-7027.

This investigation sought to identify the most significant ways in which sexuality is represented and imagined within the culture of transgender women in Colombia. We performed an exploratory descriptive study using surveys, in-depth interviews, focus groups and ethnographic strategies with 18 transgender women. The collected information was analyzed, taking into account the following dimensions of interpretation: 1. Love, erotic, and sexual relations. 2. Gender and sexual identities. 3. Sexual behavior and practices. 4. Self-care, Human Inmunodeficiency Virus (HIV) risk perception and life goals. The transgender women reached in this investigation expressed the belief that adopting a feminine identity involved taking sexual risks because the space socially assigned for them is that of street prostitution in conditions of vulnerability. We propose interventions with transgender women that favor autonomy, joy, and self-care as the central elements of a quality life and equal citizenship focused on reducing stigma.

Keywords : Transgender; Vulnerability; HIV/AIDS; Stigma; Citizenship; Transexualism; Colombia; Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome; Stigma (Social psychology).