Between Parda, Mestiça, Mulata, and Morena: The Racialization of the Light-Skinned Black Person

Abstract

This study aimed to analyze the process of constitution of racial identity and racial belonging among light-skinned Black individuals in the city of Porto Alegre, assuming their correspondence with the IBGE parda category. This qualitative research was conducted through everyday observations, informal conversations, and semi-structured interviews with participants from different social classes, age groups, and genders. Drawing on Social Psychology, the study examined the production of social meanings attributed to the bodies of light-skinned Black individuals and their racializing effects. The intersectional analysis of generation, class, and gender, articulated with the concept of controlling images, revealed the existence of a specific social position marked by attempts to distance from or deny Blackness, anchored primarily in ideologies that positively frame racial mixture. These processes operate as strategies for maintaining racial subordination and create barriers to the constitution of a critical and affirmative Black identity. Among younger and university participants, a stronger valorization of Blackness was observed, suggesting effects of recent affirmative action policies. The relevance of artistic-cultural expressions, such as rap and slam, for the affirmation of Black identity was also highlighted.