The presence of trans and travesti characters on Brazilian screens is not a recent phenomenon. Their representation, however, has undergone a dramatic evolution—from exoticized caricatures to defiant, humanized protagonists.

While international audiences may search for these films using various informal terms, the "Brazil ladyboy movie" genre—properly understood as Trans-Brazilian Cinema

The 1970s and 80s saw the rise of the pornochanchada , a genre of erotic comedies that became incredibly popular. These films often featured LGBTQ+ characters, but according to film professor Antonio Moreno’s analysis, they were typically portrayed in a negative light: politically alienated, aggressive, and with exaggerated feminine gestures, never as protagonists. The pornochanchada cemented the trope of the travesti as a sexually available, marginal figure, a stereotype that continues to color the search term “ladyboy” today. Films like A Dama do Lotação (1978) exemplified this era, focusing on sexual themes but rarely on the humanity of their trans characters.