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Sexuality, Color, and Stigma among Northeast Brazilian Women
Author(s) -
REBHUN L. A.
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
medical anthropology quarterly
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.855
H-Index - 55
eISSN - 1548-1387
pISSN - 0745-5194
DOI - 10.1525/maq.2004.18.2.183
Subject(s) - human sexuality , stigma (botany) , ideology , morality , gender studies , sociology , social psychology , symbol (formal) , reputation , women of color , psychology , political science , politics , social science , race (biology) , psychiatry , computer science , law , programming language
Despite its international image as a sexually free‐spirited country, local attitudes toward morality of sexual behavior remain complex throughout Brazil, especially in rural areas and the conservative Northeast region. In addition, notwithstanding its official ideology of nonracism, African ancestry as judged through personal appearance (color) constitutes a significant social and economic disadvantage. Using Goffman's idea of “spoiled identity” as a starting point, I show how locals use sexual behavior as a multivocal symbol of moral status in women, and how spoiled sexual reputation interacts with other stigmatized statuses, especially color. I also consider how the acquisition of sexually stigmatized status jeopardizes women's well‐being and that of their children. [Brazil, color, gender, sexuality, stigma, women]