A construção de masculinidades para homens trans

Abstract

Silva de Queiroz, F (2025). The construction of masculinities for trans men. Master's Dissertation, Postgraduate Program in Psychology, Institute of Psychology and Social Service, Federal University of Bahia.

This study aimed to analyze the process of construction of masculinities for trans men. To achieve this purpose, the Cultural Psychology of Semiotic Dynamics was used as a theoretical lens of investigation. The focus was on the process of construction of masculinities as a developmental transition that involves the construction of signs and meanings, the crossing of symbolic borders and narrative organization that allows individuals to give meaning to an experience. Gender studies that criticize the cisnormative binary logic in the construction of a stereotypical masculinity, such as hegemonic masculinity, were powerful theoretical allies for the analysis of the phenomenon. Interviews were conducted with two trans men aged 25 and 34, residents of the city of Salvador. Qualitative in nature, this study selected as methodological tools the narrative interview, which allows the individual to freely discuss a topic without a question-and-answer script, and the double blanks, which presents the interviewee with a sentence with empty spaces followed by specific connectives (“but”, “however”, “nevertheless”) to explore possible ambivalences about conceptualizations. The meetings took place virtually and in person, according to the individual demands of the interviewees. The interviews were audio-recorded and later transcribed in full, separated by thematic axes. The participants revealed their processes of constructing masculinity, their personal and cultural references, the challenges faced in this trajectory and their synthesis and individual performance in the way of “being a man”. Both participants reject the hegemonic references of masculinity and construct their masculine performance based on feminine references, other trans men in their support/affection networks, dissident masculinities, references from pop culture and transmasculine activism. By crossing the symbolic borders present in the binary separation between genders, they were able to construct signs and meanings of masculinity that are decentralized from cisnormative models. Their gender expressions also construct and modify this field, and it is possible to develop escape routes from the “script” of hegemonic masculinity. The trans men interviewed were able to weave a narrative that offers

intelligibility and cohesion to their stories in the face of developmental transformations and transitions. However, the limitations of the present study in analyzing this complex and continuous process of constructing masculinities are highlighted. Understanding masculinity as a process of continuous elaboration where there are constant negotiations of signs and meanings that represent it, this study would benefit from more meetings with the participants. A more in-depth analysis of the intersections between masculinity and other social markers such as race and class would also be useful. It is concluded that trans masculinities are masculine expressions endowed with more criticality and intentionality when thinking of this field as a space in constant transformation and rearrangement of signs and meanings. More studies are needed that can enhance trans voices and offer other perspectives for contemporary paths in the construction of masculinities.