Escrevivendo resistências: A trajetória profissional de mulheres negras na Psicologia

Abstract

Talking about the subjective experiences of black women who became psychologists is a challenge, as it requires the intersection of different understandings to account for the complexity of our existences. I bring to this discussion concepts around race, gender and class, seeking relevant contextualizations to reflect on how it was, is and has been for each of us to become and be psychologists, unveiling this phenomenon from our own accounts. The thread that leads me in this discussion is that of black feminism, through which I walk the paths that were opened by those who came before me. For this, I am inspired by Qualitative Epistemology, using the method of Life Trajectories and autoethnography (which is built, throughout this work, through Escrevivência, a concept formulated by Conceição Evaristo). Semi-directed interviews were conducted remotely with nine black women. The construction of the analysis was done in such a way as to also contemplate my experiences as a black woman and psychologist. Based on the discussions that were held, a high number of reports were made about our experiences of pain, arising from the multiple prejudices that cross us. This leads us to important considerations about the structural and systemic character of social injustices, such as racism and sexism. Next, considerations are made about the training in Psychology, which covers the moment of choice for the Psychology course until the remarkable experiences lived in the graduation. Subsequently, I reflect on the insertion in the labor market of these psychologists, analyzing, through intersectionality, what contigences the experiences we live in our professional performance. And finally, I make considerations about the glimpse as routes to feed our strength and power. Thus, this work intends to assume a denunciative character, leading us to reflect on the social role of Psychology in the fight against forms of oppression and discrimination.