Representações de adolescentes brancos sobre jovens negras, alunos de uma escola pública no município de Araputanga-MT

Abstract

The present study is about the Representations of white teenage boys, students attending a public school in Araputanga-MT, on young black girls. It was imagined taking into account those following questions: What are the representations of white teenage boys when seeing pictures of young black girls? Do they demonstrate in front of these photographs prejudiced attitudes? How are the interpersonal relationships like between white and black teenagers in the studied school environment? The used method procedures were applications of a structured questionnaire and interviews. Observations were also performed during two months. The study happened in two stages: the first, known as exploratory, when the questionnaire was applied in three schools in the State Education System. It was intended in this first stage to select the institution where the second stage would be done, plus a need to become acquainted with the students, choosing then the ones to be interviewed in a later stage. Considering the data obtained through the interviews, it was concluded that the white teenage boys carefully sought, in their speeches, to deny telling any positions of discrimination and racial prejudice regarding the young black girls. However, as the interviews and observations went on, contradictions were being shown through racist attitudes and representations. Thus, the school scenario, apparently considered a hostile environment to the problems of racial discrimination, has proved being a local where the stereotypes and negative representations about the young black females are present, on a subtle but very real manner. In the words of the white adolescents, it was possible to understand that they represent the black females as sexual objects. This representation reveals the negative stereotypes related to them in relations both inside and outside the school walls. These undoubtedly are played and produced perhaps so naïve, but real.