The forgotten thermal comfort. Lived experiences of cooling poverty from the trans community in Rio de Janeiro

Human sexuality encompasses fundamental aspects such as sex, gender identities and roles, sexual orientation, intimacy, and reproduction. Despite its significance, such a core aspect of human life is often tabooed and stigmatised by social and cultural norms in different geographies. Sexuality can be a cause of socio-economic and spatial marginalisation in most societies around the world, and in some cases, non-heteronormative relations, identities, and practices may even face legal repercussions. This paper investigates the unexplored topic of how sexuality intersects with energy poverty, particularly cooling poverty. It focuses on the lived experiences of LGBTQI + community, particularly transgender women, in the city of Rio de Janeiro, investigating how they navigate their thermal comfort amidst infrastructural deficiencies and a hostile social environment.