What do beauty and cosmetics teach us about being white?
The following paper addresses what it means to be white through qualitative research and autoethnographic writing about beauty, with the intention of revealing the complexity of its personifications. In this way, it contradicts assumptions that take for granted the desire to incorporate “white” and...
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| Format: | article |
| Status: | Published version |
| Publication Date: | 2024 |
| Country: | Brasil |
| Institution: | Universidade Federal de Pernambuco (UFPE) |
| Repository: | Revista de Estudos Antiutilitaristas e Poscoloniais |
| Language: | Portuguese |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:oai.periodicos.ufpe.br:article/261279 |
| Online Access: | https://periodicos.ufpe.br/revistas/realis/article/view/261279 |
| Access Level: | Open access |
| Keyword: | beleza raça México brancura branquitude beauty race Mexico whiteness |
| Summary: | The following paper addresses what it means to be white through qualitative research and autoethnographic writing about beauty, with the intention of revealing the complexity of its personifications. In this way, it contradicts assumptions that take for granted the desire to incorporate “white” and beautiful features, as well as the understanding of the body as a passive and homogeneous artifact. The article uses historical and conceptual lessons about beauty, race and ethnicity, to then argue through plural definitions of the body how both are embodied in Latin American realities, particularly in Mexico; and ends with questions about the borders between beauty, whiteness and humanity. To do this, it recovers the corporeal and discursive knowledge of workers in the cosmetics industry in Mexico City from the author's doctoral ethnography; along with lessons from pedagogical content taught on the topics involved and personal experiences as a racialized academic woman. |
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