“Mulher-essência”

a construção da autoestima e autoimagem nas mulheres negras

Abstract

This essay is an intersection between renowned authors of Black Feminism and thinkers in the field of Social Psychology and Sociology. The central emphasis of this study is self-esteem and self-image, as psychosocial constructions – that is, – strongly influenced by sociocultural factors. Thus, it is understood that subjectivity, mental health and personal identity are not 'individualistic' elements, but rather collective, social verve. In this way, using concepts such as Fanon's 'Inferiority Complex', we explored how social and historical issues impact the subjectivity of the so-called 'minority' groups (in this article, she emphasized the experience of black women); as well as exalting healthy collective postures of resilience and black resistance, such as, for example, the ‘pretuguês’ and the ‘escritavência’, by Gonzalez and Evaristo, respectively. To this end, we resorted to black and feminist thinkers, Brazilian and American, and – through their studies and autobiographical narratives – this study was developed.