Consuming intimate apparel: A Brazilian transgender discourse

• Published date: 01 April 2024
• Author: Rodolfo Rodrigues Rocha,Andres Rodriguez Veloso,Roberto Flores Falcão,Giovanna Giacon Rossini,Beatriz Toriello Collalto,Larissa dos Santos Lopes,Giovanna Zamboni Batista
• Date: 01 April 2024
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/joca.12550

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Consuming intimate apparel: A Brazilian

transgender discourse

Rodolfo Rodrigues Rocha

1

| Andres Rodriguez Veloso

1

|

Roberto Flores Falc˜

ao

2

| Giovanna Giacon Rossini

3

|

Beatriz Toriello Collalto

3

| Larissa dos Santos Lopes

3

|

Giovanna Zamboni Batista

3

1

School of Economics, Business and

Accounting, University of S˜

ao Paulo, S˜

ao

Paulo, Brazil

2

UNIALFA Business School, Goi

as, Brazil

3

FECAP Business School, S˜

ao Paulo,

Brazil

Correspondence

Rodolfo Rodrigues Rocha, School of

Economics, Business and Accounting,

University of S˜

ao Paulo, S˜

ao Paulo,

Brazil.

Email: rodolfo.rocha@usp.br

Abstract

Transgender consumers struggle to have their gender

identity recognized, resorting to clothing as a practical

way to forge their identity. Intimate apparel represents

the innermost type of clothing, carrying both func-

tional and aesthetic roles for transgender individuals.

When navigating the intimate apparel marketplace,

transgender consumers are faced with vulnerability as

their gender identity is stigmatized by society, nega-

tively impacting their well-being. This research focuses

on understanding the neglected aspects of intimate

apparel consumption by transgender consumers, dis-

cussing the role of stigma as it generates vulnerability

in the intimate apparel marketplace. To gain insight

into the multifaceted transgender people's intimate

apparel consumption context, we conducted in-depth

interviews with 18 Brazilian transgender consumers.

Data were analyzed using dialogical thematic analysis

with a hybrid approach of deductive and inductive cod-

ing. Our findings revealed that: (1) the consumption of

intimate apparel by transgender individuals involves a

striking duality of both positive and negative aspects;

(2) although transgender consumers see intimate

apparel as a legitimate way of expressing their gender

Received: 14 June 2021 Revised: 14 December 2022 Accepted: 3 May 2023

DOI: 10.1111/joca.12550

© 2023 American Council on Consumer Interests.

108 J Consum Aff. 2024;58:108–125.

wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/joca

identity that carries symbolic meaning, functional

aspects (e.g., comfort and fit) are also essential to them;

and (3) intimate apparel plays a unique role during

transgender people's social transition as they can

choose whether to use those pieces privately or pub-

licly, unlike most fashion products. Our key takeaway

from this research is that consuming intimate apparel

carries multifaceted meanings for transgender con-

sumers, impacting their emotional and social well-

being in several ways.

KEYWORDS

gender identity, intimate apparel, stigma, transgender

consumers, vulnerability

1|INTRODUCTION

Transgender people have a gender identity that is not consistent with their sex at birth

(Bradford & Syed, 2019; Levitt & Ippolito, 2014). This incongruence between biological characteris-

tics and social identity (Erickson-Schroth, 2014) motivates transgender people to undergo a gender

transition process that encompasses three stages: (1) social transition (e.g., using products and ser-

vices, such as clothing, makeup and hairstyle to temporarily assume the new identity); (2) medical

transition (e.g., consuming hormones and other products that alters their physical appearance);

and (3) surgical transition (e.g., undergoing surgery to assume their new identity) (Erickson-

Schroth, 2014). As such, clothing plays a pivotal role for those struggling for recognition of their

new gender identity (Baker et al., 2005;Crane,2006), as it allows transgender people to forge and

maintain their identity before society (Catalpa & McGuire, 2020; McGuire & Reilly, 2020)through

one of the most visible forms of consumption (Reilly et al., 2019).

Research on the role of clothing in gender identity affirmation of transgender consumers is

still in its infancy (Chauhan et al., 2021; McGuire & Reilly, 2020), but these studies have so far

overlooked the role that the consumption of intimate apparel

1

can have, mainly because it can

be done in secrecy and serve as an initial/experimental step into the transition process. The

need for secrecy emerges from society's struggles to understand and support transgender people.

Interestingly, Vogue (Foss, 2022) has identified exposed intimate apparel as a fashion trend,

heightening the importance of this clothing item for those seeking to construct a new gender

identity.

This scenario prompts high levels of discrimination, marginalization, and stigmatization not

only in the marketplace (Crockett, 2017), but also within transgender peoples' families

(Edwards et al., 2019) and from society in general (McGuire & Reilly, 2020; Munt, 2016). Even

worse, due to their stigmatized gender identity, transgender individuals are vulnerable to physi-

cal violence (Lombardi et al., 2002). In a context where anti-trans violence is becoming a global

epidemic (Taylor, 2020), Brazil constantly ranks as the country with the highest number of

homicides committed against transgender people (Benevides & Nogueira, 2021; TvT, 2020).

ROCHA ET AL.109