Afro-Brazilian Women

[graciousnesssss-blog]

@graciousnesssss

[honors3260-blog]

Sources

Lebon, Nathalie. “Beyond Confronting the Myth of Racial Democracy: The Role of Afro-brazilian Women Scholars and Activists”. Latin American Perspectives 34.6 (2007): 52–76. Web.21 Nov. 2015

Rodrigues, Cristiano, and Marco Aurelio Prado. "A History Of The Black Women's Movement In Brazil: Mobilization, Political Trajectory And Articulations With The State." Social Movement Studies 12.2 (2013): 158. Advanced Placement Source. Web. 21 Nov. 2015.

Lebon, Nathalie. "Beyond Confronting the Myth of Racial Democracy: The Role of Afro-Brazilian Women Scholars and Activists."Latin American Perspectives 2007: 52. JSTOR Journals. Web. 21 Nov. 2015.

"Freeing One's Mind from the Adoration of Whiteness: After Numerous Relationships of Sexual Exploitation at the Hands of White Men, Woman Learns the Liberating Power of Black Love." Black Women of Brazil. N.p., 07 June 2015. Web. 30 Nov. 2015

[blackartdepot]

Two women from Salvador, Brazil. I have to go visit that city in Brazil on day. I wan to go there more than I want to go to Rio.

[honors3260-blog]

Conclusion

I would conclude that the portrayal of Afro-Brazilian women in social media effects citizenship in a more positive then negative way. Positive in the sense that it gives a platform for insurgent citizenship by providing forums for women to exchange ideas and experiences with each other and the world outside of Brazil. Women can post images and stories of issues that are effecting them. It also gives a platform to showcase their beauty on their own terms rather then the common over sexualized images that are often shown in Brazilian and international media. I found many beauty pages dedicated to Afro-Brazilian women particularly. Pages that celebrate them can help slowly change the mindset of Brazilians and help black women feel apart of their own society. Since the media isn't giving the kind of attention that they deserve social media has helped to include Afro-Brazilian women as one of the many faces of Brazil. Social media has also been used as a way for Afro-Brazilian women to connect with activist around the world. The overwhelming support of the feminist movement and movement for racial equality is an example of this. I think if Afro-Brazilian women continue to use social media as a tool of insurgency they will not only transform their communities but change the imagined community of Brazil on the world stage.

[blackaroundtheworld]

#AfroBrazilian singer and actress Thalma de Freitas @thelmissima #wcw🙌 love her music and #essence #negrabelleza. #blackwoman

[honors3260-blog]

Academic Sources Overview

[honors3260-blog]

In Beyond Confronting the Myth of Racial Democracy: The Role of Afro-Brazilian Women Scholars and Activists written by Nathalie Lebon discusses many issues relevant to my research. The lack of representation of Afro-Brazilian women in the media, the disenfranchisement and the marginalization of Afro-Brazilian women in reality and academically. One point that I felt was particularly relevant to my research was the lack of lived experiences of Afro-Brazilian women. I mainly saw a few blog articles on tumblr published by women who identify as Afro-Brazilian. I would compare this to searches and posts by American women who identify as black who often use social platforms to discuss personal experiences, thoughts and perspectives on things relevant to their respective communities and life in general. The post I felt was most similar to those found in American targeted communities was a post by an Afro-Brazilian women named Ana Cláudia Silva detailing her experiences and views on love and interracial relationships. The post is an example of the importance of the lived experiences by Afro-Brazilian women as emphasized in the journal by Natahlie Lebon. It is very important for people of a community to tell their own expireince and not have them filtered through an outside source. In itself freedom of speach advocates insurgency. I think platforms like tumblr have allowed for that kind of insurgency. It also brought to life many issue of interracial relationships specific to Afro-Brazilian women. In the piece by  Ana Cláudia Silva she goes into detail about the self-deprecation she felt being in a relationship with a white man who was very racially insensitive to say the least. She discusses how her physical image was seen as negative by Brazilian beauty standards and her ex-husband. She details many instances when the two where together and citizens assumed they were just friend or when she was faced with racism and was not supported and understood by her partner. This interesting considering the interracial nature of the Brazilian people. In my second source Divergence or Convergence in the U.S. and Brazil: Understanding Race Relations through White Family Reactions to Black-White Interracial Couples by Chinyere Osuji, he discusses the inequalities and negative perceptions on a more European looking person being with an African looking person. This echoes Ana Claudia’s experience on how racial tensions can effect interracial relationship. My last academic source  A History of the Black Women’s Movement in Brazil: Mobilization, Political Trajectory and Articulations with the State related to the many posts on twitter instagram about the recent women’s movement. This seemed to be the most common posts found throughout social media. I am sure there are many groundbreaking things the Brazilian women are doing to fight for rights but I would like to understand why the media chooses specific events to focus on and not others. I also noticed that the support internationally was very prevalent on the activism but didn’t see much support on other issues effect Afro-Brazilian women. I would like to see how this changes in the future and what can be done to do so.

[buzzburo]

Brazil’s colour bind: How one of the world's most diverse countries is just starting to talk about race [video/multimedia]

Brazil is combating many kinds of inequality. But one of the world’s most diverse nations is still just beginning to talk about race

Para ler esta reportagem em português, clique aqui http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/o-brasil-por-tras-da-aquarela/article25830183/

[blackpoemusic-deactivated202009]

It has been shocking for a long time.

[thankgoditsnatural]

We love news like this. Curly girls in Brazil recently held their first ever Natural Hair Empowerment March. Yes! Pic reposted from @melanin_monroe_gigi_ #naturalhair #Brazil #curlyhair #afrobrazilian #empowerment #loveyourhair #tgin #tginatural #sk

[kemetic-dreams]

Joys of motherhood: Afro-Brazilian women from Bahia, Brazil holds a child and toss the baby from one mother to the other in order to make the baby happy. That is the way African society was built. Communal responsibility in upbringing of the child. A child does not only belongs his/her parents/family only but the entire community. That is why Chinua Achebe said “a cock belongs to one person but when it crows the entire village hears it.” — with Ojúbo Adífálà Èjìogbè Oba Ifá, DrKaren Asiedu Freevichino, Xodu Xoahk Xodu and 42 others.

[honors3260-blog]

Tumblr Findings

[honors3260-blog]

The demographic on Tumblr traditionally is a younger audience. On the social media landscape it is more of a personal blogging site where you share a combination of thoughts like on twitter without, the word restriction, and image like Instagram. One of the reasons I chose Tumblr is because it is often used for insurgency and bringing light to issues not spoken of by mainstream media throughout the world. On Tumblr much like Instagram there was a generous amount on all three categories. Many images of black women in carnival, and women from Bahia dressed in traditional clothing. Images of Afro-Brazilian women portrayed as mothers, and in relationships. I found personal posts about black relationships and black families in Brazil. The freedom to express experiences through social media I realize is a form of insurgency. Many stories about Afro-Brazilian women’s perspectives on the marches and protest, along with many videos of traditional dancing and music where common on Tumblr. Of the three Tumblr was defiantly the most personal. Something that I was surprised to find on Tumblr and was waiting to find on the other two sources particularly twitter often used by Advertisers and marketers to promote movies and music, was images or text about Afro-Brazilian female artist or celebrities. The one post I finally found was on Tumblr of an artists but the post was by an individual professing his love for this artist. I think this speaks to the “if you won’t talk about it we will” theme I saw all throughout social media and the internet in general. One question that can be raised about Tumblr is how accurate is each voice present? Often when you give people a semi anonymous platform to voice their thoughts and opinions you get those who take that freedom to the extreme posting things that are inaccurate and unrealistic. I would like to see how this effects perceptions of Afro-Brazilian women on Tumblr.

�p[�o��

[honors3260-blog]

[honors3260-blog]

Instagram Findings

[honors3260-blog]

Instagram considered on the top three most influential forms of social media today. Its popularity has made “selfies” a staple in pop culture. Brands and celebrities from around the world have used it to create a mass following which translates to financial gain. While the images on Instagram can very it is not typically seen as a platform for activism. Instagram showcased many images from each of the categories some of them where once again of the March of Black women in Brazil, also of the march of black women in support of natural hair and black consciousness. Images of braids, natural black hair, African clothing, and prints where consuming. When searching the #AfroBrazlianWomen images of men and police brutality also came up. This defiantly shows some unity between the black man and women in Brazil. Searching for one group and another group appearing identifies that the Afro-Brazilian women see this is as equally their issue. Throughout my other finding I found women’s experiences with racism may not have been exactly the same as men’s but it still effects them greatly. Themes of insurgency very clear through the defiance in many photographs. The celebrations of things that the contributors feel have been misrepresented or disregarded. When finding Afrocentric images along with the hashtags I searched the images were also tagged with #blackpride #blackbeauty and other similar tags. This makes it apparent that the reasoning behind posting those images is to put a focus on black consciousness. The images on Instagram overall very positive.

[honors3260-blog]

[honors3260-blog]

[honors3260-blog]

[honors3260-blog]