Contesting Beauty
English + Español
In 2016, the official Miss Brazil beauty pageant competition witnessed an unprecedented moment, as six black Brazilian women from around the country advanced to…
Country: Brazil
Sensual Not Beautiful
While white actresses and models still dominate beauty and fashion magazines in Brazil, on my last few visits to Brazil, I’ve noticed that actresses of African descent such as…
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Building Muscles in Rio’s Fitness Clubs
Bodybuilding has similarities to the rituals that could be found in religious practices or rites of passage. The construction of the body and of a masculine identity within gyms and…
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A Ditadura Acabada
The timing of the publication of the fifth and final volume of Elio Gaspari’s monumental history of the Brazilian military regime could not be more relevant. It is ironic that his new…
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Dancing with the Devil in the City of God
Juliana Barbassa and I have similar stories. We are both Brazilian with a chronic case of wanderlust, but in some ways on opposite tracks: Barbassa is from Rio and I am from São Paulo…
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