“What’s the use of writing correctly if we don't even know if it reached its destination?”

Letters, Affection, and Politics in the Lives of Incarcerated Transgender Women and Travestis in Florianópolis, Santa Catarina.

Abstract

https://doi.org/10.1590/2179-8966/2026/93679

Based on an ethnographic study conducted with transgender women and travestis who
were serving time in Penitenciária Masculina de Florianópolis, in Santa Catarina, this work
aims to reflect on how records, particularly letters and documents, fit into the routines of
these individuals whose movements are tied to the prison institution. In this sense, we
intend to examine the different representations expressed in these written records
produced by the research participants. During the fieldwork carried out by one of the
authors, it was possible to observe the fundamental role that letters played in the daily
lives of the participants and to analyze their contents, which express bonds of affection
and material demands related to their legal processes, connecting from within the prison and creating networks of contact among the participants, family members, and
researchers. At the same time, the letters do not escape the control exercised by the
State, through the reading of what was written by prison officers, under the justification
that such records could contain information that might jeopardize the State’s control over
the movement of these incarcerated individuals. Finally, the study seeks to highlight the
specificities created by the State of Santa Catarina in the realm of Public Security and
prison investment, which does not extend to travesti and transgender women. Thus, in
this article, we will reflect on the relationship between the writing and circulation of
letters produced by incarcerated transgender women and travestis, considering the
controls to which they are subjected and the communication methods they employ.