Racial whitening, or "whitening" (branqueamento), is an ideology that was widely accepted in Brazil between 1889 and 1914,[1] as the solution to the "Negro problem".[2][3] Whitening in Brazil is a sociological term to explain the change in perception of one's race, from darker to lighter identifiers, as a person rises in the class structure of Brazil.[4] Racial mixing in Brazilian society entailed that minority races ought to adopt the characteristics of the white race, with the goal of creating a singular Brazilian race that emulates the white race, striving to create a society best emulating that of Europe.[5]
Racial whitening became a social concept that was developed through governmental policy.[6] Similar to that of the United States, Brazil experienced colonization by Europeans and importation of African slaves in the 18th and 19th century.[6]
As a way of making Brazil seem like a modernized country comparable with European nations, Brazil encouraged the immigration of white Europeans with the goal of racial whitening through miscegenation. Once they arrived, European immigrants dominated high-skilled jobs, and libertos (freed slaves) were relegated to service or seasonal jobs. Additionally, whitening led to the formulation of the Brazilian idea of "racial democracy", the idea that Brazil lacks racial prejudice and discrimination, allowing equal opportunities for blacks and whites alike, effectively creating a race-blind society.[5]
The myth of racial democracy arose from the lack of a strict segregationist culture and the frequency of interracial marriage. Thus, it was argued that Brazil was not bound by racial lines, but issues caused by racism festered under the surface.[5] This inattention to race implied that all Brazilians had an equal opportunity to attain social mobility.[5]
However, this masked the true goal of whitening as a means to nullify the identities of black and indigenous identities. In Brazil, race is considered a spectrum upon which one's identity is subject to change based on a variety of factors, such as social class and educational attainment.[6] Governmental policies like affirmative action seek to mediate identity problems associated with racial democracy.
^Sánchez Arteaga, Juanma. "Biological Discourses on Human Races and Scientific Racism in Brazil (1832–1911)." Journal of the History of Biology 50.2 (2017): 267-314.
^Skidmore, Thomas. Black Into White: Race and Nationality in Brazilian Thought, Oxford University Press. NY, 1974.
^Schwarcz, Lilia Moritz. (2011). Predictions are always deceptive: João Baptista de Lacerda and his white Brazil. História, Ciências, Saúde-Manguinhos, 18(1), 225-242
^NOGUEIRA, Oracy. "Tanto preto quanto branco: estudo de relações raciais no Brasil." São Paulo: TA Queiróz, Série 1 (1985).
^ abcdCreighton, Helen (May 2008). "How Far is the 'Rhetoric of Inclusion; Reality of Exclusion' Argument Applicable to the Relationship of Afro-Latin Americans to the Nation-State?". History Compass. 6 (3): 843–854. doi:10.1111/j.1478-0542.2008.00532.x.
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