A construção da negritude em mulheres no contexto rural: modos de participação e enfrentamentos

Abstract

The reality of black women in the country is characterised by historical marks of violence, which reverberate in various aspects of their lives, making them susceptible to a wide range of situations of oppression and psychosocial vulnerability. We understand the importance of understanding the contradictions inherent in the social participation of black women in rural contexts. From this, we developed the guiding question: How does the social participation of black women affect their relationship with blackness? The general objective of the thesis is to understand how the social participation of black women affects their relationship with blackness, while the specific objectives are: to understand the lifestyles of black women living in rural contexts; to describe these women's conceptions of blackness; to identify the processes of oppression experienced by women as a result of the intersectional relationships between racism and gender; to identify the meanings of the social participation of rural black women and to analyse the processes of identity construction of black women with social participation. This qualitative investigation is an action research project that adopts the strategies of five experiential group meetings, eleven field diaries, and six semistructured interviews. The participants are black women over the age of eighteen who are involved in some form of social participation in their communities and have been living in rural contexts for at least two years. The data was collected in Viçosa do Ceará and Tianguá, neighbouring municipalities located in the Serra da Ibiapaba, in Ceará. The information was processed using Atlas TI 5.2 software to organise the analysis of the narratives. Seven analytical dimensions were examined: ways of life of black women in rural contexts; processes of oppression, violence, and discrimination; blackness, racial identity, and recognition; social participation and sense of belonging; illness, pain, and challenges; forms of coping, resistance, and support; ancestry and spirituality. Data analysis was performed using the following methodologies: narrative analysis from decolonial and Abstract intersectional perspectives and writing practices. The results show that the social participation of black women affects their relationship with blackness in an intersectional way. Women who participate have some level of awareness of the consequences of racism and sexism, develop processes of self-identification, and relate to blackness as a movement of collective affirmation and struggle for rights. Conceptions of blackness are related to self-identification; recognition of oneself and others; and blackness as a tool for social transformation and combating racism. Women's lifestyles are characterised by excessive responsibilities, mandatory domestic and care activities, a close relationship with the land and their territories, subjugation to men in various aspects of life, a scarcity of material resources, and conditions of poverty. These aspects imply specific difficulties in the process of becoming black. We affirm that the social participation of black women interferes in their relationship with blackness by promoting the strengthening of identity and processes of individual and collective recognition, leading to the creation of modes of resistance, despite the challenges experienced.