Research analyzes the presence of trans identity in graduate studies in Mato Grosso do Sul.
Research analyzes the presence of trans identity in graduate studies in Mato Grosso do Sul.
The article “Beyond the (Cis)tem: Trans Identity and Paulo Freire’s Theory of Knowledge in Theses and Dissertations in Education and Science Teaching at Public Universities in Mato Grosso do Sul (MS)” by Danrvney Christian Monteiro dos Santos, Regiani Magalhães de Oliveira Yamazaki, and Victor Hugo de Oliveira Henrique, published in Revista Espirales (v.9, 2025), carries out a necessary study on the intersections between education, gender, and human emancipation.
The research investigates how trans people appear—or are silenced—in academic productions from the region, bringing to light the dialogue between Freirean theory and the epistemologies of difference.
Among its findings, the study identifies Paulo Freire as one of the most frequently cited references in the analyzed works; however, it highlights that trans identities still appear marginally or peripherally in academic discourse. The authors propose the concept of a “Freirean Transpedagogy,” suggesting a liberating education that includes trans voices in the construction of knowledge.
The text also maps the universities that produce the most research on the topic and draws attention to the scarcity of trans or nonbinary advisors in graduate programs. Reading the article is an invitation to rethink the very act of educating and researching, extending Freire’s principle of liberation beyond the classroom—toward human diversity and cognitive justice.
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