Black Brazilian Feminisms: Confronting Inequality in Brazil through Creative Practice and the Arts

Brazil is a significant economic power in the Latin American and Caribbean region. However, it is also a country of dramatic inequalities rooted in its colonial history and political development. Traditionally, these social inequalities have been explained in terms of class, however many contemporary scholars agree that this image of Brazil was overstated and that racialized and gendered hierarchies are deeply entrenched in the society. Furthermore, Afro-Brazilian activists and feminist scholars have brought attention to the social and economic exclusion of women of African descent in Brazil, within a cultural context where strong symbolic associations between black women, poverty and subservient positions exist. Anti-racist and feminist struggles in Brazil tend to be channeled into certain domains of action, such as social policy, law and public education. However, there are important arenas of action that are relatively less explored, due to the focus on more "rational" responses to racism. This article considers Black women's mobilization against racism through creative, artistic and spiritual work. I argue that it is important to consider these kinds of processes as they may operate in a different, more visceral way that makes it possible to engage with the emotive side of racism. Sommer (2005) indicates that cultural agency may create more "wiggle room" in the interstices of social structures. Black women's work in cultural organizations have sought to deploy the medium of art, culture, storytelling and spirituality to raise black women's self esteem, confidence and self expression. While these organizations are sometimes subject to appropriation and recolonization by dominant patriarchal forces, it has the potential to challenge racialized and gendered hierarchies in Brazil by suggesting new "structures of feeling."