The help, unscripted: constructing the black revolutionary domestic in Afro-Brazilian media

Gillam, Reighan

doi:10.1080/14680777.2015.1137338

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…Nearly two‐thirds (61.6%) of domestic workers are Black women (PNAD/IGBE 2009, cited in Pinho , p. 107). Although some are working to refashion this image of Black women as maids (Gillam, ), John Burdick notes that “Today the image of a preta (black woman) as a maid continues to be one of the most durable in Brazilian popular culture, reinforced through everyday practices, as well as by storytelling, media, schoolbooks” (, p. 47). The telenovela Two Faces , which I discussed earlier, also presented the character of Sabrina, a Black domestic worker for a wealthy White family.…”

Section: Brazil's Racial Terrainmentioning

confidence: 99%

Representing Black Girlhood in Brazil: Culture and Strategies of Empowerment

Gillam

2017

Communication, Culture & Critique

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In this article, I examine how popular and alternative media depict Afro‐Brazilian girlhood and young adulthood. In discussing representations of Black girlhood in Brazil I draw attention to the importance of Brazilian and Afro‐Brazilian culture to understanding the empowerment of Black girls. In Brazil, girls of African descent operate in a national context that centers narratives of whitening, racial mixture, and the denial of Blackness as a category. Additionally, Black girls experience aesthetic standards that value Whiteness and their general invisibility in public culture, which can contribute to low self‐esteem. The recent rise of MC Soffia, a Black girl MC, and short films by Afro‐Brazilian women demonstrate that cultural traditions and acts are central to Black girls' empowerment.

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Section: Brazil's Racial Terrainmentioning

confidence: 99%