Writer launches book as mother of trans man with stories from other mothers

Writer and playwright Adélia Nicolete has just released the book “Manto da Transição: Narrativas E Escritos e Bordadas por uma Mãe de Trans”. The publication delves sensitively and deeply into the intersection between literature, visual arts and personal experiences.

Delicately embroidered, the publication interweaves the author’s experience as the mother of a trans man with reports from other mothers. The book, conceived from a diary, records the ups and downs, the fears and celebrations, the challenges and achievements of the maternal process in the face of gender transition, all carefully stitched together by the author’s poetic writing.

In 2014, when young Bernardo began his transition, Adélia found refuge in the diary. Having saved not only written records, but also pieces of clothing filled with emotional memory, the artist felt the need to give new meaning to clothing, through embroidery, and share her experience and that of other mothers, giving rise to the project “Manto da Transição ”.

“It has been a long journey since the beginning of the transition and it is very gratifying to see that the process was not restricted to the family, but expanded through a book and an exhibition. All of this thanks to a cultural incentive law that, we hope, will allow the project to reach a lot of people and bring visibility to the transmasculine agenda”, highlights the author.

The maternal narratives were written based on interviews, conversations broadcast on Instagram and also through extensive research. They are present in the first part of the book, entitled “Caderno Reinaldo” in reference to the male name adopted by the character Diadorim, from “Grande Sertão: Veredas”, written by João Guimarães Rosa. Reinaldo/Diadorim represents the courage of those who complete the transition journey.

As for the second part, it brings together the embroidered garments and a description of the process. The title “Orlando Notebook” refers to the work of the same name by Virginia Woolf, which features a character who alternates between male and female. The influence of visual artists on the concept of embroidery is notable. Arthur Bispo do Rosário (1909-1989), Leonilson (1957-1993), Zuzu Angel (1921-1976) and Louise Bourgeois (1911-2010) used this technique in their work and gave the “Manto da Transição” project inspiration aesthetic, historical and political.