Objective:

to identify the social representations of transvestite sex professionals regarding quality of life.

Material and Method:

a qualitative, descriptive, exploratory study, anchored in the Theory of Social Representations, developed with seven professional transvestites of sex. The data production was carried out with semi-structured interviews and later transcribed, validated and analyzed from the Thematic Content Analysis.

Results:

three categories emerged: 1) Access to health as a principle to quality of life; 2) Support of non-governmental organizations in the visibility and respect to the demands of the trans population and 3) Social ties as a propositional tool in the meaning of quality of life.

Final considerations:

the representations are located in the need to access health services free of prejudice; in the support of non-governmental organizations in the recognition of their potentialities and singularities, establishing affective bonds of support, loyalty and trust; and in the establishment of social bonds produced with neighbors and friends to face the difficulties experienced daily.

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