Travesti

A Latin American gender identity for people assigned male at birth who develop a feminine gender identity and expression, often including body modification, while frequently rejecting classification as either "women" or "trans women." Travesti is widely understood within Latin American gender theory as its own gender position, shaped by specific histories of class, race, sex work, and state violence.

Travesti communities have existed visibly across Latin America for over a century. Long criminalized and subject to extreme police violence, travestis became central figures in Latin American LGBTQ+ activism - Lohana Berkins (1965-2016, Argentina) led the campaign that produced Argentina's landmark 2012 Gender Identity Law. Argentine activists and scholars developed teoria travesti - a body of theory insisting travesti is a political identity, not a failed approximation of womanhood. The term, once purely a slur, has been substantially reclaimed in activist and academic contexts; outsiders should follow individuals' own usage.

• Lohana Berkins (1965-2016) - Argentine travesti activist; architect of the 2012 Gender Identity Law
• Marlene Wayar (1968-) - Argentine travesti theorist