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Tam (2nd from left) and Widad have been a couple for a year.
When the two kissed in the market in Bolivia, some people were curious, others got angry and verbally abused them
Photo: Irina Werning
In 2018, at the age of 19, Tamara Perez left her hometown of Cochabamba, Bolivia and moved to Buenos Aires to become a professional dancer on a scholarship to a dance school.
In March 2022 Tam came back home - with a new name, a new look and the commitment to be non-binary, i.e. to feel neither exclusively as a woman nor as a man.
"Transgender non-binary people exist in Bolivia, South America and around the world," says Tam. "There isn't just one way to be non-binary, we are all unique."
As a child, Tam tried on his father's underwear in front of the mirror and later bought his own men's underwear.
Tam has not resorted to medical interventions such as hormones or sex reassignment surgeries, but prefers to be addressed with the pronouns they/them.
Living in Buenos Aires made the transition easier for Tam.
"Living away from home gave me the space to embrace the changes as they came, figure out how I wanted to present myself, and not worry about who I met at the grocery store in high school when I was doing something tried something new.«
The Argentine capital is cosmopolitan and culturally open;
many Latino trans people live there.
For years Argentina has been at the forefront of progressive legislation to protect and expand LGBTQ rights.
It was the first country in the world to allow people to change their gender in legal documents without the permission of a doctor or judge.
A year ago, the country went one step further: in June 2021, Argentina passed a new law that sets a quota for transgender people in the public sector.
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Tam denounces the rigid gender stereotypes that still prevail in Bolivia
Photo:
Irina Werning
Argentinian society is correspondingly open: while according to an Ipsos survey of more than 19,000 people from 27 countries, a global average of 51 percent of those surveyed are in favor of LGBTQ people being open about their sexual orientation or gender identity, support in Spain ( 73 percent), Argentina (69 percent) and Chile (68 percent) highest.
On average, one percent of adults worldwide identify as transgender, non-binary/gender-fluid, or neither male nor female.
The proportion varies greatly between generations and countries: from four percent of Generation Z (born 1997 or later) and two percent of Millennials (born 1981-1996) to one percent in Generation X (born 1965-1980) and less than one percent among baby boomers (born 1946-1964).
In terms of countries, the rates in Germany and Argentina are among the highest globally at an average of three and two percent.
“I think younger generations are more open to living in the moment and not labeling themselves.
Being fluent is the new thing,” says photographer Irina Werning.
She met Tam at a video clip shoot where Tam was dancing.
"We all sat in a circle and introduced ourselves," says Werning.
"Tam said, 'I'm non-binary trans and transitioned during lockdown.
Next month I will return to my hometown for the first time.
I'm from Bolivia and it's a very traditional society, so I feel a bit like a dissident, but I'm also curious.'” Strong ideologies have silenced women and LGBTQ people in Bolivia for centuries.
And gender stereotypes still determine the decisions of the vast majority of women in the country.
The photographer was intrigued and asked if she could accompany Tam to document the visit home.
Werning wanted to know: what happens when trans people take to the streets and get in touch with people, especially in a patriarchal society like Bolivia?
Watch here how Tam experienced the return to Cochabamba*:
*The photos were produced in cooperation with the Pulitzer Center.
This contribution is part of the Global Society project
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