EMPOWERMENT THROUGH CULTURAL PRACTICES WOMEN IN CAPOEIRA By AIMEE BETH GREEN A THESIS PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2009 1 © 2009 Aimee Beth Green 2 To women all over the world fighting to conquer space. “Mulher guerreira, mulher guerreira, na capoeira sua história vai contar E ela luta a vida inteira, pro preconceito e o machismo acabar” -Juiz De Fora (capoeira song) 3 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I thank my family for their support in whatever endeavor I chose to undertake. My thesis committee Florence Babb, Charles Perrone and my chair Carmen Diana Deere have provided insightful comments and contributions to my work. Elizabeth Chin and Jane Jaquette have also played an important role in helping me to develop this topic. I am grateful to the Tinker Travel Foundation for a field research grant which funded my research in Brazil during the summer of 2008. I would like to acknowledge the capoeira groups in Goiânia and the many capoeiristas who have given me their time and perceptions about the world of capoeira. I would also like to thank Jelon Vieira for his continued support of my research. I thank all of the men and women who have fought for social change and opened up new spaces for dialogue and other forms of participation. Finally, I owe much thanks to Borracha, my capoeira professor and my husband, for guiding me in my study and understanding of capoeira for the past seven years—axé! 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...............................................................................................................4 LIST OF TABLES ...........................................................................................................................7 LIST OF FIGURES .........................................................................................................................8 ABSTRACT .....................................................................................................................................9 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................11 Concept of Empowerment ......................................................................................................12 Power ...............................................................................................................................13 Empowerment ..................................................................................................................15 Feminist and Women’s Movements in Brazil ........................................................................21 International Support and Funding ..................................................................................24 New Social Movements ...................................................................................................25 2 CULTURE, POWER, RESISTANCE AND CAPOEIRA .....................................................28 Historical View of Capoeira ...................................................................................................30 Resistance ........................................................................................................................41 Women in Sports and Capoeira .......................................................................................42 Gender in Lyrics .....................................................................................................................45 3 CAPOEIRA IN GOIÂNIA .....................................................................................................49 Methodology ...........................................................................................................................49 My Position .............................................................................................................................52 Description of Respondents ....................................................................................................53 Gender and Barriers to Participation ...............................................................................54 Embodied Difference .......................................................................................................59 Empowering Benefits .............................................................................................................62 Healthy Minds .................................................................................................................62 Self-Esteem ......................................................................................................................64 Strong Bodies ..................................................................................................................65 Self-Expression ................................................................................................................66 Transgressing Boundaries and Conquering Space ..........................................................67 Conclusion ..............................................................................................................................69 5 4 CONCLUSION: VAMOS DA UMA VOLTA SÓ ................................................................72 Limitations ..............................................................................................................................73 Further Research .....................................................................................................................74 Empowerment through Community Sport and Social Projects: Practical Applications ........75 APPENDIX A PARTICIPANT DATA ..........................................................................................................79 B EXAMPLE ADULT GRADUATION SYSTEM ..................................................................81 REFERENCES ..............................................................................................................................82 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH .........................................................................................................85 6 LIST OF TABLES Table page 3-1 Reasons for initiating and stopping capoeira .....................................................................71 A-1 Female Participants ............................................................................................................79 A-2 Male Participants ...............................................................................................................80 7 LIST OF FIGURES Figure page 2-1 This picture shows two capoeiristas playing in a capoeira roda. .......................................48 8 Abstract of Thesis Presented to the Graduate School of the University of Florida in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts EMPOWERMENT THROUGH CULTURAL PRACTICES WOMEN IN CAPOEIRA By Aimee Green May 2009 Chair: Carmen Diana Deere Major: Latin American Studies Empowerment discourse and projects have often focused on economic and political aspects of women’s inequality, neglecting the most basic levels which include self-esteem, self- expression and the ability to recognize and challenge unequal power relationships. This research focuses on the Brazilian martial art of capoeira as an empowerment activity for women. It is based on interviews and observations conducted in Goiânia, Goiás in the summer of 2008. I found that capoeira reflects and in some instances perpetuates gender inequality by reinforcing patriarchal attitudes. For example, women are often responsible for both the home and paid work, leaving less time for recreational activities than men have available. There are also perceived differences between men’s and women’s physical capabilities. At the same time, capoeira also challenges these gendered assumptions. In this study, I find that women do experience empowerment through their participation in capoeira. Benefits include an increased self-esteem as well as a stronger and healthier body. Capoeira also provides women an outlet for self-expression, exposes them to a philosophy of resistance to oppression and often allows women to engage in community building. Furthermore, women’s participation in this male-dominated martial art transgresses traditional gender boundaries and requires that 9 women take up space in male domains, calling into question perceived differences between men and women. 10 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION The empowerment of women is essential for creating equality between men and women. Most of the discourse on women’s empowerment has focused on economic and political aspects of women’s inequality, neglecting the most basic levels of empowerment, which include self- esteem, self-expression and the ability to recognize and challenge unequal power relationships. I use capoeira as a case study to illuminate how cultural activities may empower women by increasing their self-esteem, fostering self-expression, transgressing gender boundaries, challenging gender perceptions, relieving stress, building community, local and international networks, and more. Capoeira is a traditionally male Afro-Brazilian cultural practice that incorporates martial arts, dance, music, acrobatics, history and philosophy. I argue that participation in a traditionally male-defined activity, capoeira, provides an avenue for women to recognize traditional power structures and challenge