Bodies in Focus

Ten Years of Photographic Practice with Transvestites in Roraima

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.47456/rf.rf.2133.51432

Keywords:

photographic practice; gender; visibility

Abstract

This work presents an autoethnography of ten years of photographing alongside a transvestite association in the state of Roraima. It aims to describe the trajectory and understand how photography can contribute to visibility, resistance, and aesthetic-political sharing, drawing on reflections by Jacques Rancière and Judith Butler. It concludes by reflecting on the importance of collective practice, aesthetic experimentation, and affection for the improvement of photographic practice and the political struggles for visibility.

Author Biography

  • Elisangela Martins, UFRR

    She is an artist who combines poetry, photography, and other artistic languages ​​to defend human rights. A specialist in Literacy, she investigated the history of the MOBRAL program in Roraima and subsequently pursued a master's degree in the Postgraduate Program in Social History at the University of Amazonas, where she conducted research on the memory of the Military Regime in Roraima. Interested in debates on gender and sexuality in the field of contemporary art, she is a professor of Art History and Photography in the Visual Arts course at the Federal University of Roraima, a member of the Roraima Photography Association (AFOTORR), and a volunteer collaborator with the Association of Transvestites and Transsexuals of the State of Roraima (ATERR), with whom she has been developing projects since 2015. Linked to the research line Art, Subject and City of PPGARTES/UERJ, she earned her doctorate in 2024 investigating the history of the LGBT+ Movement in Roraima from the artistic manifestations of transvestism and drag.

References

BUTLER, Judith. Problemas de gênero: feminismo e subversão da identidade. 16.ed. Rio de Janeiro: Civilização Brasileira, 2018.

BUTLER, Judith. Corpos que importam: os limites discursivos do sexo. São Paulo: N1Edições, 2019.

RANCIÈRE, Jacques. A partilha do sensível, estética e política. 2.ed. São Paulo: EXO Experimental; Editora 34, 2009.

LIVE abre as comemorações do Dia Internacional da Mulher no TCERR. Tribunal de Contas de Roraima, 8 mar, 2021. Disponível em https://www.tcerr.tc.br/portal/noticia/1620;jsessionid=965BE53F6047F175924D17BFFFD686E. Acesso em: 10 nov. 2025.

EXPOSIÇÃO fotográfica aborda o feminino diverso. Folha de Boa Vista, 8 mar. 2021. Disponível em: https://www.folhabv.com.br/variedades/cultura/exposicao-fotografica-aborda-o-%C2%91feminino-diverso%C2%92/. Acesso em: 10 nov. 2025.

PROJETO retratos e magias celebra data expecial para trans. Folha de Boa Vista. 24 jan. 2016. Disponível em: https://www.folhabv.com.br/variedades/entretenimento/projeto-%C2%91retratos-e-magias%C2%92-celebra-data-especial-para-trans/. Acesso em 10 nov. 2025.

PROJETO faz ensaio fotográfico em alusão a visibilidade trans. Folha de Boa Vista. 20 jan. 2021. Disponível em: https://www.folhabv.com.br/variedades/cultura/projeto-faz-ensaio-fotografico-em-alusao-a-visibilidade-trans/. Acesso em: 10 nov. 2025.

ASSEMBLEIA Legislativa do Estado De Roraima. ATERR faz ensaio fotográfico sobre o Dia Nacional da Visibilidade Trans. Boa Vista, 30 jan. 2021. Facebook. Disponível em: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=762820291317531. Acesso em 10 nov. 2025.

Fundo cinza escuro. Cartaz branco com inscrião em russo no centro. Abaixo da inscrição, no cartaz, palavras rasuradas com a mesma tinda preta. Acima do cartaz, sobre o fundo cinza, logo da Farol e referência completa da edição.

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Published

30-12-2025

Issue

Vol. 21 No. 33 (2025)

Section

Seção Temática

License

Copyright (c) 2026 Elisangela Martins

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

The authors of works submitted to Revista Farol authorize their publication in physical and electronic media, solely for academic purposes, and may be reproduced as long as the source is cited. They attest to their originality, authorship and originality.

How to Cite

MARTINS, Elisangela. Bodies in Focus: Ten Years of Photographic Practice with Transvestites in Roraima. Farol, [S. l.], v. 21, n. 33, p. 60–72, 2025. DOI: 10.47456/rf.rf.2133.51432. Disponível em: https://periodicos.ufes.br/farol/article/view/51432. Acesso em: 4 feb. 2026.