To Exist is to Resist: Black Transnational Thought & Aesthetic in Afro-Brazilian Identity, Appearance-Based Bias, & Hair Politics

Abstract

This thesis considers the influences of embodied aesthetics and structurally internalized eugenicist notions of identity on contemporary relations of gender, race, and class for Afro-Brazilian women. Through an examination of hair politics and appearance-based bias, we explore the effects of gendered racism on Afro-Brazilian identity formation, while providing a nuanced exploration of Black women’s intellectual production on race relations in Brazil. I use the lens of body aesthetic to engage the Black woman as a social subject while examining the following case studies: hair politics in Yasmin Thayná and her 2015 film Kbela (Chapter 1); Ten Interviews conducted with Afro-Brazilian women in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Salvador (Chapter 2 and Appendix); Select scenes from Aliza Capai’s 2019 documentary film “Espero tua (re)volta”, focusing on the leading actress, Marcela Jesus’ experiences and interview (Chapter 3). Some of the questions that we will be grappling with are: How have Afro-Brazilian s combatted racist interpretations of their identity and defined negritude in Brazil for Afro-descendant populations? How are Afro-Brazilian women currently continuing to re-define systemic affronts to their existence and positioning in Brazilian society? Is access to opportunity (work, education, relationships) in Brazil influenced by external phenotype markers in appearance, specifically hair texture? Finally, this research hopes to illuminate the symbiotic relationships between Black feminist organizers in Brazil and the United States such as Lélia Gonzales, Angela Davis, and Marielle Franco as demonstrations of afro-centered social production and political activism. Following the narratives of Black Brazilian women, we will be able to better understand the social landscape in Brazil while also elevating Afro-Brazilian voices and intellectual production.