Brown women and liking themselves: assemblages of aesthetic standards based on racial hierarchy

• Grant number: 23/11046-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: January 01, 2024
• End date: December 31, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Interdisciplinary Subjects
• Principal Investigator: Cristiane Gonçalves da Silva
• Grantee: Sara Santos Costa
• Host Institution: Instituto de Saúde e Sociedade (ISS). Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP). Campus Baixada Santista. Santos , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Brazil went through a process of racial whitening with the aim of seeking the "evolution" of the Brazilian people in the post-colonial period, generating consequences even in today's society. In particular, brown people had and have their lives marked by this historical process, experiencing a racial limbo between not being white and not being black enough. In the case of mixed-race women, the importance of aesthetics for the female universe and the Brazilian beauty standard based on white traits must be considered, which can affect the subjectivity and self-love relationship of non-white women. Thus, this study will seek to understand how the aesthetic standards constituted from whiteness affect the relationship that young brown women establish with themselves. The methodology of the study is qualitative, based on the elaboration and execution of a workshop with women (cis/trans) who declare themselves to be brown and between 18 and 29 years old. The workshop will be guided by the perspective of the concept of Escrivência carried out by Conceição Evaristo, so that it is possible to promote reflections from critical thinking about one's own existence and the crossings inherent to being a racialized woman in the Brazilian context.