“Eu sinto na pele”: uma análise da discriminação percebida, identidade racial, autoestima e autoimagem corporal de adolescentes negras

Abstract

In order to expand discussions on the themes of “race”, gender, racial identity and self-esteem of black schoolgirls and to highlight the importance of producing more in-depth reflections on racism and discrimination in the Brazilian social context, the main aim of this research is to analyze the influence of perceived discrimination on the racial identity and self-esteem of black schoolgirls and how media ideals of beauty influence their body self-image. In order to develop a discussion that permeates the proposed themes, this dissertation presents five chapters. The first consists of a review that explores the concepts of racism, delimiting particularities about its systemic nature and its implications for different social strata, in terms of the profile of black individuals or groups subjected to racial discrimination. Consequently, the consequences of racism, in this case in the childhood and adolescence of black adolescents, are understood. The second chapter delves into discussions about being black in Brazil, based on an analysis of identities, as well as race relations that tend to place the black body in an unequal and discriminatory condition. It also addresses the effects of this discrimination on the racial identity of black women and adolescents, and how it is only possible to conceive of the idea of race relations when we understand that there is a sexist and patriarchal structure, which creates and at the same time is fed by the ideology of racism. Chapter three presents the methodological aspects of the research, based on the general and specific objectives, which outline both the purpose and goals of the study, followed by a detailed description of the method used. Chapters four and five deal with the presentation, discussion of the results and conclusion of the study, respectively. Methodologically, the research is based on a mixed-methods epistemological approach. In order to meet the proposed objectives, an exploratory study was carried out with 120 white, black and brown female participants, with an average age of 13.43 years (SD = 1.06). The main results of this research highlight the significant and positive relationship between perceived discrimination and racial identity, indicating that the greater the perception of daily discrimination, i.e. the more black adolescents recognize and perceive the existence of discrimination, the stronger they become in terms of racial identity. This finding establishes discrimination as a predictor of racial identity. Furthermore, how these young women identify with their hair directly influences their self-esteem and body image. In turn, media beauty ideals exert a negative influence on the self-esteem and body self-image of both black and white adolescents, resulting in lower levels of self-esteem among those who feel most impacted by these standards. Thus, racial identity and media beauty ideals play a significant role in self-esteem and body self-image among black and white adolescents. Overall, the study highlights the importance of strengthening the racial identity of black adolescents, especially with regard to their self-esteem and body self-image. These dimensions are still deeply impacted by a system that perpetuates discrimination.