Fenomenologia do racismo no Brasil: uma analítica do corpo

Abstract

This dissertation can be defined as a proposal for a phenomenological analysis of the body, considering the impact of racism as a crucial element in shaping the bodily experience of Brazilian existences. In this analytical path, there is a significant lens that permeates the discussions, which is decoloniality. Within this proposal, there is a decision to engage with the historical materiality of the foundation and development of our country, understanding that the colonial experience never ended in our daily lives but only created new forms of operation. Viewing the body as a key element of existential experimentation and racism as a major pillar of coloniality, this dissertation significantly addresses this issue, approaching phenomenologically the 'thing itself' of Brazilian racism and describing its possible manifestations in bodies. Due to its decolonial nature, the phenomenology grounding this text diverges from the phenomenology produced by classical authors in this philosophical tradition. While drawing from some of these authors, this work adopts a critical stance towards the limitations it encounters in contemplating Brazilian phenomena through the elaborations of European philosophers, among other constraints to be elucidated throughout this writing. There are also points of convergence, particularly in the issues of the body presented by Maurice Merleau-Ponty. Building on these convergences, a philosophical dialogue is established with the prominent author Beatriz Nascimento, incorporating racial elements into the bodily analytics that were not considered by the French philosopher. There is, therefore, no outright denial of the importance of phenomenology and its classical authors; rather, there is an acknowledgment of their limitations, an understanding of some of their problematics, and an attempt to traverse them from alternative perspectives. The phenomenological praxis of Grada Kilomba and Judith Butler is chosen as inspiration and philosophical endorsement. Finally, reflections are presented regarding gestures, conceptualizing the notion of gestures as bodily movements marked by intentionality. Passing through the fundamental analysis of the incidence of the experience of power on bodies—since power is considered a phenomenological element in the constitution of bodies—it leads to the conception and description of three gestures: 'colonizer gesture,' 'colonized gesture,' and 'Nascimento gesture' as expressions of the mode of operation of black and white bodies in Brazil.