An attractive Brazilian wife or your money back: an analysis of introduction agencies specialized in uniting Brazilian women to German men

• Grant number: 14/11322-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Effective date (Start): August 01, 2014
• Effective date (End): December 31, 2016
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Anthropology
• Principal Investigator: Laura Moutinho da Silva
• Grantee: Thais Henriques Tiriba
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (FFLCH). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated scholarship(s): 15/16551-1 - An attractive Brazilian wife or your money back: an analysis of introduction agencies specialized in uniting Brazilian women to German men, BE.EP.MS

Abstract

In this research project, my objective is to explore the values attributed to affective-sexual relationships established through the mediation of marriage agencies which specialize in uniting Brazilian women with German men. Taking into consideration the interfaces between global and local processes, in a context in which homogamic and "homochromatic" norms have been broken in transnational marital arrangements, I analyze the historical and social dynamics that enable the tendency of men from the so-called first world and women from the so-called third world to utilize such methods to contract matrimony. Furthermore, I try to investigate the personal motivations of individuals that use this manner of looking for a compatible partner, questioning how wider relations of power, gender, race and nationality inequalities would be negotiated in the couples' intimate life, paying attention to the possibilities of agency of the Brazilian women and considering women and men as the main actors of their choices.