Vulnerable agency: fat, bodies and their making among youth in a Brazilian favela
Year: 2019
Type: article
Abstract: Contemporary social and cultural conditions in Brazil, together with technological developments and social media have enabled more young people of the favela to participate in different spheres of public life. These social and cultural changes have brought diversified new images of what it means to be an embodied subject. In this article, I explore the ways in which the body holds a seemingly paradoxical role as a locus of agency while being the primary site of attempts to be read, classified, and controlled for Brazilian favela youth. I explore the essential role of the body in enabling agency, as they deal with shame, fat, and exercise. Through an examination of the ways in which they were vulnerable, as a subjective experience, and its connections with their social context, this article aims for a nuanced understanding of their agency, as it intersects with gender, class, and race.
Source: Journal of Gender Studies
Author: Daniela Lazoroska
Institution: Lund University
Language: English
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
SDG: Reduced inequalities
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W2990212629