Travestis: a geopolitical identity. A Latin-american southern interpretation of The Queens of Sarmiento Park

Abstract

The aim of this article is to approach the travesti identity from a territorial perspective, that is to say, emphasizing in the political latin-american roots of this collective subjectivity. Starting with an interpretation of Travestis, a political identity by Lohana Berkins (2006), I consider some of those latin american peculiarities that the author points as being key in shaping the travesti identity, understanding such identities as historically, culturally and geographically located in the latin-american south. Furthermore, I intend to analyze some extracts from The Queens of Sarmiento Park (2022) by author Camila Sosa Villada, a novel that has had a wide global circulation and therefore has placed discussions about the latin-american travesti life experience in the public sphere. I intend to point out some ideas which will be useful to work with territoriality as an intersectional category, that is to say, a concept that contemplates the intertwining of two or more different categories such as gender, nationality and ethnicity. The aim is to consider travestis not only as gender expression identities but moreover, regional subjectivities.