Self-Declared Skin Color in Contemporary Brazil

Stéphanie Cassilde ()
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Stéphanie Cassilde: CSE - Cultures et Sociétés en Europe - UNISTRA - Université de Strasbourg - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, ERUDITE - Equipe de Recherche sur l’Utilisation des Données Individuelles en lien avec la Théorie Economique - UPEM - Université Paris-Est Marne-la-Vallée - UPEC UP12 - Université Paris-Est Créteil Val-de-Marne - Paris 12, CERDI - Centre d'Études et de Recherches sur le Développement International - UCA [2017-2020] - Université Clermont Auvergne [2017-2020] - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique

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Abstract: It is well established in litterature that popular saying "money whitens" is a strong mechanism of skin color self-declarations in Brazil. It was indeed observed comparing self-declarations and declarations by a third – mainly the interviewer – that the higher the educational level, the lighter the declaration by respondents. The same link was assessed for wages and income. These researches do not include a full analysis of darkening and chromatic immobility. Admittedly darkening is sometimes mentioned, but it is rather a strict counterpart of lightening than a choice for itself: if "money whitens", "poverty darkens". But contemporary evolutions of representations in brazilian society lead notably to a valorization of darkening. In this paper, I construct a chromatic mobility model to analyse lightening, darkening and chromatic immobility together. In this model, the mobility is realized by the respondent in relation to the perception of a third. Each individual realizes a trade-off to maximizes its satisfaction. This trade-off calls together personal identity and social identity. The empirical application of this chromatic mobility model relies on original data collected during a field research conducting in São Paulo (november 2006 – august 2007). I conclude that the link between chromatic mobility and educationnal level has to be nuanced. Indeed, it exists a threshold above which darkening is prefered to lightening. I although underline variables which are linked to chromatic immobility.

Keywords: Brazil; chromatic mobility; skin colour; race; identity; declaration; categorization; rational choice; language (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2010-07-11
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Published in XVII ISA World Congress of Sociology - Sociology on the Move, International Sociological Association, Jul 2010, Göterborg, Sweden

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-01574065

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