http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/16/world/americas/transgender-models-prosper-in-brazil-where-carnival-and-faith-reign.html?_r=0
NY Times, Taylor Barnes
In a country that publicly celebrates its mixed-race and multicultural heritage, Brazil's cosmopolitan capitals like São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro have become places where crossing gender lines is increasingly accepted. Still, transgender models themselves say Brazil is also in many ways a deeply conservative country with strong religious forces that can create a hostile environment for its gay and transgender population.
Even as transgender models gain prominence, [it's argued] has little political value.
"I think it means that men who look like women, as long as they are submissive to men and focus on beauty and clothes, don't threaten anything," [says James N. Green, author and historian]. "It fits into men's fantasies."