TRANSPARAÍSO

TRANSPARAÍSO
“Out of lack of opportunities, many transgenders turn to prostitution, a price they pay for choosing to transform.”
Pep Bonet
Transparaiso is part of a global, long term project, documenting transgender people.
An intimate portrait of transsexuals in Chile, Honduras and Brazil, who work as commercial sex workers, and are often faced with harassment by their families, the church, as well as at a political level, and by police. Many face the threat of HIV.
The deep structural social problems faced by the poor in Brazil,Honduras and Chile, combined with the isolation and discrimination encountered by transgender people, conspire against their attainment of the most basic human and legal rights. There are a number of NGOs and federal, state, and municipal government agencies that offer various forms of advice and assistance to transgender people, mostly as part of STD/AIDS prevention and assistance programs.
The combined effects of discrimination, humiliation, lack of education, and isolation from mainstream society place enormous emotional strain on transgender people, especially those who earn their living as sex workers.
The pressures to succumb to drug abuse and criminality are enormous, but transgender people are also especially vulnerable to contracting AIDS and to falling into cynicism and despair. Avoiding these pitfalls demands remarkable courage and strength of character.