Professor and anthropologist LaShandra Sullivan has provided a new framework in which we can better understand Black LGBTI+ struggles, activism, and resilience in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In recent years, Brazil has seen significant increases in violence, especially against the Black, female LGBTI+ community. With the recent election of President Jair Bolsonaro, misogynistic and homophobic rhetoric has rapidly proliferated, thus promoting racist attitudes and hate crimes throughout the country. Sullivan eloquently described the term segurar to represent the practice that is characterized by ‘holding on and staying upright’; paving a pathway to one’s future endeavors. Notably, this notion of segurar is unevenly distributed throughout society, making staying afloat a challenging feat for some more so than others.
Most importantly, Sullivan highlighted the moments of joy and revelry making among the activist community that are part of a broader meaning-making process. These instances – long or short, large or small – are crucial to the concept of segurar. Staying upright is not defined by one sole practice or belief, but rather involves physical movements, interpersonal interactions, and practices of loving and longing. Additionally, when thinking about segurar we must pay attention to the past, the present, as well as any encompassed historical experiences. Segurar can be seen in everyday life, in many different domains. For instance, the pervasive history of settler colonialism is not one that simply disappeared after autonomy was gained by the nation’s inhabitants. Constant reminders of colonial rule and oppression are deeply embedded in prominent societal culture, as well as within the physical: such as in architecture and structures. Historically marginalized individuals are forced to face these nonmaterial and physical reflections of a reprehensible, traumatizing past. Consequently, holding on and staying upright becomes an arduous task.
A crucial underlying aspect of the inequality and violence that pervades Brazil is discourse. This form of speech is characterized by a group of statements that represent knowledge, and are a system through which power can operate. Due to the fact that discourse influences social practices, the effects of it are quite real and tangible. President Bolsonaro’s misogynistic and homophobic speech is a form of discourse that seeks to disempower and harm Black, LGBTI+ women. As described in The West and the Rest: Discourse and Power, author Stuart Hall draws upon Foucult’s concept of discourse to show how discourse and power interact together. Shaping a particular negative discourse makes it possible for the creator to construct a conversation whilst limiting what others are able to say or think (Hall 201). However, although Bolsonaro’s speech causes major destruction by oppressing marginalized voices, Sullivan takes an approach that emphasizes the ways in which Black queer feminists consequently mobilize and foster solidarity through instances of joy. These practices of joy are both a collective effort and a personal task, seen in song, rhythm and dance. The resulting sensorial enmeshment with others and integrated eroticism in these moments engender power.
Sullivan reminds us that every individual has an identity, and oftentimes more than one. However, the question arises as to how people navigate their various identities, especially in a broader socioeconomic, historical, and political context. For instance, individuals who are members of multiple disenfranchised groups face amplified difficulties. The term intersectionality was first coined by scholar and writer Kimberlé Crenshaw to describe these overlapping social identities and their consequences (Steinmetz). Through this theory and lens, it becomes possible to understand the struggles and hardships of the Black, queer women in Rio de Janeiro, and the ways that they engage in both advocacy and revelry making while staying upright and embodying segurar.
Furthermore, this ties into the concepts of marked (visible) and unmarked (invisible) identities, discussed as a central tenant by author John Hartigan in the book Race in the 21st Century. Hartigan delves into the ways in which ‘“whites generally have the advantage of appearing racially unmarked, or “normal”’ (85). Within many societies, notions of colonial rule manifest themselves through racial hierarchies, wherein power is unequally distributed to different groups. As a result, whites are able to selectively engage with their race, whereas marginalized individuals who are ‘marked’ by their racial/ethnic appearance are forced to grapple with and consider their identity in all spheres of life.
When looking deeper at the intersection between race and gender identity, we must also consider the idea of a master status, which is the primary identifying feature of an individual. These most salient features or characteristics significantly influence how someone is perceived, thus shaping their interactions with members of society and institutions. During Sullivan’s discussion, she highlighted the practice of gay flagging; an act that draws attention to one’s gayness. This practice is not only to attract a romantic or sexual interest, but also to foster solidarity within a community that often faces harsh persecution from outgroup members. Flagging may mark an individual, making their identity more salient. However, it may also be a convention that only ingroup members can recognize, thus constructing a shared symbolic meaning.
Sullivan’s research acts as a reminder that political mobilization can take many different forms. As she stated in her discussion, “segurar, holding on, is an effort at well-being, which amidst these circumstances is necessarily an act of political defiance”. The concept of segurar is both a physical and symbolic notion, embodied in day-to-day life in response to the context of cis hetero, patriarchal anti-blackness in Brazil. To better understand marginalization and struggle, we must examine history and its repetitions; a colonial past as the foundation for one of the most unequal nations in the world. Yet an anthropological lens that looks solely at the harm and the destruction caused by this inequality, fails to truly grasp what it means to be a Black queer feminist in Rio de Janeiro. Therefore, Sullivan’s meticulous attention to the positive – activists’ revelry-making and coalition-building processes – provides a key element in understanding the situation with an underlying respect and appreciation.
Works Cited
Hall, Stuart. The West and the Rest: Discourse and Power. Edited by David Morley, Duke University Press, 2018.
Hartigan, John. Race in the 21st Century: Ethnographic Approaches. Second edition, Oxford University Press, 2015.
“She Coined the Term ‘Intersectionality’ Over 30 Years Ago. Here’s What It Means to Her Today.” Time, https://time.com/5786710/kimberle-crenshaw-intersectionality/. Accessed 12 Oct. 2020.
Sullivan, LaShandra. Holding the Wave: Black Lesbian Feminist Resilience and the Reactionary Turn in Rio de Janeiro, in Precarious Democracy: Ethnographies of Hope, Despair, and Resistance in Brazil after the Pink Tide. Edited by Benjamin Junge, Alvaro Jarrin, Lucia Cantero, and Sean T. Mitchell Newark: Rutgers University Press, 2020.