In Brazil, the lifestyle of a male prostitute is not always ideal. This is not ideal for a certain group of individuals who call themselves Transvestites. These individuals left their homes at a very young age and moved into tiny rooms in buildings with many others like them because of their identity. Don Kulick traveled to Salvador, Brazil and lived with Travestis to observe how their lives construct their perceptions of personal gender expression and sex. Through gender expression and attention to the details of their relationships with heterosexual men (Don Kulik of Travesti: Sex, Gender, and Culture Among Brazilian Transgender Prostitutes Travestis), they validate their relationship between sex and gender. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original Essay When trying to understand the identity of a Transvestite, one must know the difference between sex, sexuality and gender. Sex is what we were assigned at birth based on your genitals: biology. For example, a penis is assigned to a man while a vagina is assigned to a woman. Sexuality is what attracts you sexually and romantically. Finally, gender, the most delicate, is a person's internal sense of being; how one feels if he is a man or a woman. This can be demonstrated through outward appearances known as gender expression. Now Crossdressers identify as a gay man (sexuality) (sex) and their gender is the hard part to define. As male prostitutes, they choose to use feminine pronouns, (she/her) have feminine names, and exhibit feminine attributes such as wearing makeup and having long hair. Another part of Transvestite culture involves injecting silicone into their bodies to achieve larger breasts or buttocks. Kulick asked, “Why do individuals who engage in these kinds of bodily practices do it? » (Kulick 84). All had the same consensus, they can modify their bodies as they wish, but they choose and will keep their penis. They modify their bodies to have more feminine attributes but not to be a woman. Thus, their gender identity is not considered transgender despite the title of the book due to the lack of desire to change sex: "A transvestite is not a woman and can never be one, they tell themselves , for God created them male” (Kulick 84). Transvestites also believe that if someone in the community declares that they are a woman and wants to get rid of their penis, they are "mentally disturbed" (Kulick 84). Then, when we talk about Transvestites, the two sexual orientations that arise are heterosexuality: attraction towards the opposite sex and homosexuality: attractions towards the same sex. Kulick describes "This early homosexual desire is linked to performing or effeminate roles and it is the combination of these two factors...that seems to guide transvestites toward their first sexual encounters, where they invariably assume the sexual role of the one who is penetrated. .” (Kulick 52). They continue and describe themselves as “viados” and continue to explore their sexual interests and desires. They sought out older, willing men to penetrate them not out of desire but to validate their gender: "But what's most significant is that all these memories of becoming feminine are linked - in fact, they are narratively preceded by - erotic interest in other men. (Kulick, 48 years old). As they got older, the interest only grew stronger and allowed them to find boyfriends. So, with their masculine identity but with the desire to feel morefeminine, they want to find the “perfect” man to satisfy this need. “Transvestites are attracted to men who have a classically masculine appearance.” (Kulick, 120). These boyfriends are always between 18 and 30 years old, heterosexual, tanned, muscular and more than always poor. Banana, a cross-dresser, said she was attracted to men with “big muscles” and good qualities. Crossdressers and boyfriends almost always live together and almost never monogamous with just one boyfriend. With cross-dressers making money through prostitution, to get a man's attention, they buy him lavish gifts and once they are in a relationship, the gifts keep coming. The question to ask is: why are they buying them these gifts? Upon finding a potential boyfriend, crossdressers will not immediately fall in love with him since they do not desire men like them. This is where gifts come in, crossdressers seek validation from those men who are not sexually and/or romantically attracted to the same sex, gifts keep the interest alive and well in these men and make them want to stay in the relationship. “So, instead of trying to seduce her home with sex appeal, a transvestite will take a much more direct route, that of her man's heart… that road is paved with money and material goods.” (Kulick 109). Heterosexual men are always the target of desire because they don't want to "give a damn", i.e. they only have the desire to penetrate their transvestite girlfriend, not to be penetrated “…being a man, in the The gender system invoked by the parodies is that a man classified as a man will not be interested in another man's penis. (Koulick 24). If boyfriends are interested in a crossdresser's penis, they might become unwanted and the crossdresser would actually move on and find another boyfriend. Boyfriends at home know not to touch the transvestite's penis because doing so, in the transvestite's mind, will make them look bad. The reason is that boyfriends are just there for show and to validate the crossdresser's gender. From the point of view of cross-dressing, they seek these boyfriends to feel like a woman: “a man is a man because he desires a woman; a transvestite can “feel like a woman” to the extent that she desires a man and is desired by him in return. (Kulick 126). Even though they know their identity as a man, crossdressers want to feel the feminine side of being a woman. “Appropriate desires,” as Kulick puts it, come from the practices and desires of transvestites. She wants to be penetrated by the male and never have to penetrate the boyfriend; it ruins the facade of his desires, i.e. making the boyfriend look and act like a man. The only thing missing in the relationship is sexual attraction, or sexual desire. Since they defend a man's sexual activity, transvestites almost always go in search of a boyzhino. A boyzhino is a man between the ages of 13 and 17 who is homosexual and who wants to "give a fuck" in one way or another. Transvestites go looking for these young males to satisfy their sexual satisfaction. They also find sexual pleasure with their clients when they work on the streets at night to earn money. Keila says: “A transvestite doesn't attach himself to anyone for sex, because a transvestite doesn't need a boyfriend to enjoy. » (Kulick 132). Looking at all the information presented by Kulick, the main idea that keeps coming up is the concept of reassurance and validation. That is, the concept of dating a heterosexual man to make him feel like a woman. They inject silicone into their bodies to attract men to..