A compreensão dos conselheiros LGBTQIA+ do Amapá sobre o acesso às práticas formativas de lazer de travestis e transexuais em Macapá

Abstract

In this work, we understand leisure as a human need and a dimension of culture, which should be accessible to everyone. Leisure is a social right, which implies recognizing it as public policy that, alongside other spheres such as education, health, housing, and employment, can provide a better quality of life for people. However, access to leisure is very unequal due to markers of social class, gender, social relations, and sexuality, resulting in more advantageous appropriations for those who enjoy cisheteropatriarchal capitalism. Although Brazil is a country with great cultural diversity, marked by a plurality of gender and sexual identities, it remains a historically violent country for people who do not follow the “natural” gender order, such as the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual, and other (LGBTQIA+) populations, with an emphasis on the transgender population. In this process, I highlight the existence of the State Council for the Rights of Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, Transvestites, and Transsexuals of Amapá (CELGBT-Amapá), a collegiate body of a deliberative and consultative nature that is part of the State Secretariat for Inclusion and Social Mobilization (SIMS) of the Government of the State of Amapá (GEA). CELGBT-Amapá is active not only in promoting respect for gender and sexual diversity, but also in ensuring that these individuals benefit from state public policies. Given the hostile reality that many trans and transvestite individuals experience in Brazil and Amapá, this research focused on the following question: What is the understanding of the councilors representing the “T” segment (transvestites and transsexuals) of CELGBT-Amapá regarding access to leisure for transsexual men, transsexual women, and transvestites in Macapá? The overall objective of this study is to analyze the understanding of CELGBT-Amapá councilors representing the “T” segment (trans men, trans women, and transvestites) regarding leisure formative activities that include individuals from this segment in Macapá. This study has a qualitative approach, combining bibliographic research, documentary research, and field research, conducted through a socioeconomic questionnaire and semi structured interviews. After collection, the data were processed using Bardin (1977) content analysis, carried out in three phases: pre-analysis, analysis, and data interpretation. The results revealed a predominantly critical understanding of the scarcity of leisure opportunities for the trans and transvestite population in Macapá, pointing to social exclusion, institutional transphobia, and other symbolic exclusions, which contribute to the alienation and marginalization of this group in public Spaces. On the other hand, the statements also brought positive experiences of well-being, acceptance, and community power, which reframe leisure as a space of belonging. Therefore, studies such as this broaden the debate on the relationship between leisure, gender, and education, becoming fundamental tools for social change and the creation of public leisure policies aimed at this population.