Translator: Caroline Braga Reviewer: Theresa Ranft
"Bad hair,"
"maid's face,"
"crazy nigger,"
"thug face,"
"wide-nosed,"
"ugly nigger,"
"black people's thing."
These are some words and expressions
directly connected to black people in Brazil.
And the question that motivated the beginning of my work was:
Is there any way we can change this?
If you were born before the year 2000, like me -
anybody here born before then? -
(Laughs)
most probably some of these people were a reference to you.
For girls in the '90s, '80s,
this was a dream image,
of beauty, an ideal to be followed.
For the boys,
this was the image of women worthy of head turns,
the "ideal woman."
But let me ask you:
What if you're totally the opposite of this image?
And what about the same media presenting this as the ideal image
just show people like you
in the role of the dark-skinned maid
who is always there to serve the boss,
who has no family, no history, who is docile,
but who only serves as a backdrop?
Or what about the slave woman or man
who never came together for their freedom
because they were conformed to their situation?
There is also the troublemaker, the thug, the abandoned black boy,
and you can't forget the almost mystical figure
that only showed up at carnival -
all of this under the myth of racial democracy
that said that due to miscegenation, racism was not such a big thing here.
This was what growing up as a black kid was like:
the eternal attempt to fit in.
I remember that in my childhood,
I developed the habit of putting a clothespin on my nose
a few hours each day -
that was when my mother wasn't looking.
You might ask me why.
Already at that time,
I understood that a nose like mine
wasn't considered beautiful.
My kind of appearance wasn't very well favored.
After all, what I heard was:
"A pretty nose is a slim nose.
Good hair is straight hair."
Who has heard this?
I also remember that, for a long time, my dream was to be a nanny,
and my mother asked me, "Where did you get that from?"
I'm not in any way devaluing this job here.
There's no problem in being a nanny or a maid.
The problem is when certain people understand
that these kinds of jobs are miraculously intended for them;
that there's no other way, no other alternative.
This makes me think
that the media has not only reinforced this idea -
they keep reinforcing it.
In a research about race and gender in telenovelas,
over 100 telenovelas were analyzed
that were aired between 1995 and 2014,
and they concluded that in these telenovelas,
90% of the main characters were white people.
And this information tells us a lot more
than just lack of representativity.
Because it wasn't necessarily that black people weren't there.
The problem was and still is how these people are represented.
It's been years and years of reinforcing stereotypes,
years showing these people in the same roles.
And I believe that in order for this to change
or for us to start this change,
we would need a very persevering effort
to represent these people in other roles.
But can we wait for the media to wake up
and decide to change?
No, we can't wait.
The hands that write the scripts are still the same.
Now, this is the image of one of my videos,
which is a tour of my face.
It's where I introduce a new narrative about black aesthetics.
I talk about my experiences,
I talk about my characteristics.
And today that video has about 9 million views
and comments like these that I'll read for you here.
"Thanks for this video.
Since last year, I've been looking for self-acceptance.
I'm rediscovering my black body.
Black gums were an issue for me in my childhood.
I'd try not to smile too much in photos so as to hide them.
I've always loved my lips.
On the other hand, I've always hated my nose.
Today, I look at myself in the mirror and I consider myself very pretty,
with a delicate face, with a beautiful color."
Another comment:
"I have a one-year-old daughter,
and I'm already putting this video in my playlist
for her to learn more with women like you.
Just one more:
"I think you're so beautiful, which makes me ask myself
why I can't see myself as beautiful too.”
And it doesn't stop there.
Like many other content creators
that have never been represented outside the stereotypes,
we are today using a new media to build a new narrative,
new narratives that positively impact people
and cause social transformation.
In my channel, I talk about racism and its impacts.
I talk ... a lot.
But I also talk about student exchange,
living alone,
relationships,
makeup.
And you know why?
Because we exist
beyond the racism and the stereotypes that were imposed upon us.
And I always like to get away from the idea
that we're constructing a "counternarrative"
because it makes it look like we're always starting from the other,
almost an opposition.
We're actually constructing a new narrative.
A little while ago,
I came to the conclusion
that I no longer have the time to deconstruct.
My goal became to construct -
construct people that understand their place in life,
understand their place in society,
who know their rights,
who are going to find out
that their story isn't only about slavery and serving;
that we were kings, queens, inventors, mathematicians;
that we need to look after our physical and mental health,
fight against this genocide.
My idea is to construct.
And now, I have a question for all of you:
What new narrative do you want to give to the world,
whether inside or outside the internet?
What new story do you want to bring light to?
I came here not just to show my example
and encourage you,
I came to show that it's possible.
Thank you.
(Applause) (Cheers)