BETWEEN INVISIBILITIES AND RECOGNITIONS

ACCESS TO CITIZENSHIP FOR TRAVESTIS AND TRANSSEXUALS IN BRAZIL AND THE CHALLENGES OF STATE ACTION

Abstract

This article critically analyzes the access to citizenship for travestis and transsexuals in Brazil, in light of persistent social exclusions and the structural limitations of State action. Based on an intersectional approach and conceptual reflections on formal and substantive citizenship—albeit not consolidated into a unified theory—it investigates how public policies, judicial decisions, and legislative actions contribute, or fail to contribute, to the civic inclusion of this population. The study draws on statistical data, institutional documents, and empirical evidence from interviews and national LGBT conferences, highlighting key axes of exclusion: educational, labor-related, territorial, and documentary. The methodology is qualitative, grounded in bibliographic and documentary research, with Caio Benevides Pedra (2018) as the main empirical reference, alongside data from civil society organizations, current legislation, and international human rights guidelines, such as the Yogyakarta Principles and reports from the UN and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. The theoretical framework engages with the works of José Murilo de Carvalho and Jessé Souza to understand structural inequality and the selectivity of Brazilian citizenship. By discussing the role of the State as both a promoter and reproducer of inequalities, the article proposes pathways for institutional strengthening, the mainstreaming of affirmative policies, and the full recognition of dissident identities. It concludes that progress in ensuring rights requires not only normative frameworks but also political commitment and effective mechanisms of social accountability capable of breaking historical cycles of invisibility and violence.