Black identity and childhood: ethnic-racial relations within a structured play context

Abstract

Black identity and childhood: ethnic-racial relations within a structured play context Ethnic-racial relations in Brazil are instilled with prejudice, which is visible in socio-economic inequalities, and sort of invisible in daily social interactions. From a sociocultural and dialogical self perspective, the goal of this study was to identify aspects related to the topic during social interactions among black and white girls within a structured play context. Nine to 11 years-old girls from a public school in Brasilia participated of the study. Eight girls, four black and four white, were observed in two mixed-raced groups, of four girls each, during 30 minutes sessions, with objects selected to maximize race-related interactions. Each group participated of three filmed play sessions, and one episode was selected for presentation here. Results show the occurrence of early internalization of beauty standards that devaluated black phenotypic characteristics, therefore posing serious problems for black girls’ constitution of self.