Large breasts, long artificial hair, wide hips, shapely curves, and a masculine detail between the legs. Although they are the secret sexual desire of some men, they deal with prejudice on a daily basis. Brazil is the country that has murdered the most transgender women in the world for the 15th consecutive year, according to data from National Association of Transvestites and Transsexuals (ANTRA). In 2023, there were 155 deaths of trans people in Brazil, whose life expectancy is only 35 years. According to NGO, most of the attacks on trans women come from their clients, who don't want to pay for sex. But it's not just transphobia that takes the lives; another aggravating factor in their existence is linked to their vanity— industrial silicone.
The substance is used to lubricate automotive parts, but without the resources to have a prosthesis fitted in a specialised clinic, they resort to a primitive, painful, and highly risky method: applying by injection the oily product to their bodies and thus shaping their female forms, especially their breasts, butt, and hips. Some also apply it to their faces to enlarge their cheekbones. The applications are usually carried out by veteran trans pimps without any medical experience or hygiene conditions. Often these procedures are made in makeshift spaces without the use of anaesthesia; it is not uncommon for the patient to die during the application.
Once it's in the body, it's only a matter of time before it causes damage to their health, ranging from intense pain to infections and frequently death, as mentioned before. Born in a favela complex known as Maré, in Rio de Janeiro, 22-year-old Agatha Nicolly has two litres of the oily substance on her buttocks, which was applied 11 years ago when she was still a minor. She remembers her transition and the discrimination she suffered at first: “I started my transition when I was 12. I suffered from transphobia at the time; boys would throw fruit at me.”
She is currently in Italy, where she works as a sex worker, luckily for her, there were no complications. Asked if she regretted having the procedure, she clarifies, "When I had it done, I knew the risks because friends of mine had already died from it, but I was very young; I didn't have the mentality I have today; if it were now, I wouldn't have it done," she said, who years later had her breast implants done in a specialised clinic.
Brazil's first generations of trans women
The first generation of transgender women dates back to the 1950s and 1960s, although there are no documents to confirm this, when the country was under a military regime. In the 1970s, many of them migrated to Paris, seen as a paradise that mixed freedom and money in prostitution or doing performances on nightclubs. In the past, the situation was even worse in Brazil; they were only seen at night, didn't take public transport, didn't have access to health or other services. They often lived in insalubrious boarding houses, and the only way out for their survival was the sex market. If prejudice from the population wasn't enough, they also suffered police violence and were often arrested. At night, their sexual services are sought by the same society that mocks them by day.
Fortunately, progress has been made since then, including legal advances, but a lot still needs to be done, and transphobia is a recurring problem in the country. The situation only changes and becomes more encouraging during Carnival, the most festive time of the year, where everything sounds libertine and nothing seems forbidden. During this period, they are flirted with by men on the streets, and their presence was common at the carnival balls popular in the 1980s and 1990s in Rio, which attracted many male tourists.
The Other Killer of Trans Women in Brazil
Why would anyone use a product when they know it's dangerous? Because it's a cheap and quick to change body shapes, trans women quickly went for it without thinking about the future consequences. It's also allied to gender dysphoria (identifying with the opposite sex), where they need to look feminine, so that their mind is aligned with their body; besides that, with no opportunities in the formal labor market, the prostitution is the only way out most of the time. For this, having feminine shapes (especially breasts) is fundamental, being a kind of cycle in which to earn money you have to look like a woman.
Although there are statistics on the deaths of trans people due to transphobia, there is no concrete information on the deaths of trans women due to industrial silicone. Some of whom even die during the procedure. In 2010, trans woman Carol Alves, 34, lost her sister Bianca Alves, who was also transgender, a few days after having the product applied to her legs: "She already had 6 litres in her ass; her breast was prosthesis. She had the procedure on a Friday; on Saturday, she became ill; the next day, she was taken to the hospital, and she died two days later. The cause of death was pulmonary embolism and septicaemia," said Carol, who lives in Rio de Janeiro.
Bianca was only 20 years old and had been a sex worker for three years. According to her sister, the trans woman who applied the oily silicone ran away soon afterward. After 14 years, Carol still hasn't gotten over her sister's death. She says she doesn't have industrial silicone in her body, she only uses hormones, and she didn't want to work in the sex trade. When she tried to work in formal jobs, she suffered discrimination. "You suffer transphobia everywhere, at work, in society. I've worked at McDonald's and other companies; the customers called me 'he'; society insists on putting us in the male figure; we have to be respected," she lamented.
The price of beauty
A substance used to lubricate machinery should never be used to enhance or create breasts, buttocks, hips, thighs, or any other part of the body. The Brazilian Medical Council has banned the application to the human body. The result of a silicone liquid application is always unpredictable. One of the most common consequences is deformities in the body, where they can migrate from one area to another, creating an abnormal volume (nodules).
Brazilian Brenda Gomes, 44, is also a sex worker, and unlike some of those interviewed, she had complications after accidentally falling into a hole. "I hurt my hip; it caused a clot; I had to have surgery, but I didn't rest; my hip stayed open (a wound) for a year and eight months; and after four years, I still applied it under the scar." Brenda doesn't know exactly how many litres of the product she carries around in her body. "I started taking hormones when I was 11, and when I was 14, I put in 2 litres; when I was 15, I put in another litre; and as I got older, I put more in my feet, knees, buttocks, mouth, face, etc."
Paula Maia, 34, has 6 litres of the substance in her body, spread over her buttocks, legs, and hips. The applications happened twice, when she was 16 and 18 years old. In 2019, the first damage came with the body's rejection. “It began to necrotise on the buttocks and lasted until 2021; the substance is not absorbed by the body; we do it because of dysphoria about being trans women; if I could go back, I wouldn't have put it on”. Since 2013, Paula has been living with a disability after surviving a robbery while working as a sex worker.
Removing industrial silicone is a delicate surgery that is carried out in stages and by specialised surgeons, and there is no guarantee of success. That's why Brenda isn't thinking of removing it: "I love my body; silicone can only be removed if there are problems; if you move it even more, you can have a lot of complications in the healing process because in some parts of the body this silicone remains liquid," she said. Fortunately, with the spread of information, especially on the internet, younger trans women are now making more use of hormones and prostheses. However, some, even aware of the risks, still use the illegal gelatinous substance; usually those with fewer financial resources, even though they know they are carrying a time bomb in their bodies.