Transgender Women and Old Age: Social Representationsin the Pandemic Context

Abstract

Background: In Brazil, transgender people over the age of 60 face high vulnerability and discrimination. Objective: The study aimed to identify the social representations (SR) of old age among middle-aged and elderly Brazilian transsexual women. Method: This is a qualitative, exploratory and descriptive study made up of 20 transexual women aged 45 or over (M = 53.4; SD = 5.05). Due to the context of the pandemic, the research was carried out using an online questionnaire for participants from all over Brazil. Two instruments were used for data collection: I) a sociodemographic questionnaire and II) a semi-structured interview. Two pieces of software were used to analyze the data. Initially, the data from the sociodemographic questionnaire was analyzed using SPSS and then the semi-structured interviews were analyzed using IRaMuTeQ using the Descending Hierarchical Classification (DHC). Results: The results pointed mainly to issues of trans aging, the challenges faced by society, as well as the loneliness of trans women and their respective invisibility. Conclusion: From the research, it was possible to conclude that the SRs show that trans old age lacks visibility in society, and there is still a need to change stigmas in relation to ageing.

Keywords

• Old age LGBT
• Vulnerability
• Trans old age
• Social Representations