Bodies in transit: Brazilian trans women in the sex industry in Europe

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.33871/nupem.2026.18.44.11323

Keywords:

Europe, intersectionality, Brazilian women, trans women, sex industry

Abstract

The article analyzes the diasporic trajectories of Brazilian trans women working in the sex industry in Central Europe. A total of 38 women were interviewed for this study. Based on empirical research, the objective is to understand how ethnic-racial, gender, and sexuality dimensions intersect, give rise to new forms of coloniality, and can be articulated to create strategies of resistance, mobilization, and women’s empowerment. The study focuses on four issues: (1) relationships of conflict and sisterhood between Brazilian trans women and women of other nationalities; (2) political engagement and strategies to combat discrimination and transphobia; (3) bodily transformations required by the sex industry and how they affect identities and subjectivities; and (4) how this specific migratory context reconfigures relations of coloniality and reframes anti-racist, postcolonial, and intersectional struggles.

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Published

2026-08-11

Issue

Section

Dossier “Language, Society, and Social Minorities”