Article

Dados vol. 56 n. 4 Rio de Janeiro out./dez. 2013

in the social imaginary in Portugal: an analysis of knowledge-building, power relations, and modes of subjectivation

Gomes, Mariana Selister

Abstract

This article analyses in the social imaginary in Portugal through the Foucaultian analytical triad 'knowledge-power-subjectivation', combined with feminist and de-colonial perspectives. The article begins with a retrospective genealogy of media and touristic discourses, based on interviews and documents, in order to unveil the knowledge-power discursive order in the image of . The second part analyzes subjectivations of Brazilian immigrant women in Portugal, drawing on interviews and participant observation, to unveil situations of prejudice and discrimination and shed light on how the women confront the discursive order by resisting and re-existing as subjects. According to the conclusions, Brazilian women are seen as a 'colonial body' to the extent that they are defined, essentialized, and stigmatized through characteristics attributed to them ever since the historical colonial period and related to hypersexuality. Three modes of subjectivation are identified by which these women resist stigma and re-exist: passive, affirmative, and combative resistance.

Keywords: Brazilian women, Portugal, racism, sexism, coloniality, resistance

DOI: 10.1590/S0011-52582013000400005

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