Black and Afrodiasporic masculinities in Brazil: punishment and torture against black people

Abstract

This study examines the continuity of torture and punishment practices directed at Black and Afrodiasporic masculinities in Brazil, spanning from the colonial period to modernity. Aiming to highlight how these practices remain mechanisms of social control and expressions of racial power, the study frames its research based on the concept of "recreational racism" proposed by Moreira (2019). Methodologically, an interdisciplinary literature review is adopted, grounded in historical and journalistic data, and inspired by the implicated research of Macedo (2012). The theoretical framework incorporates contributions from Moura (1988, 1992) and Lara (1988), who discuss the resistances of Black communities and the racial structures of oppression. The results reveal that, although physical torture practices have changed in form, racial violence persists in a sadistic and institutionalized manner, reinforcing white supremacy. In this regard, we propose a critical and collective confrontation of structural racism and its manifestations, drawing on the work of Fanon (2008), Bento (2022), and Allport (1954), with the aim of achieving racial equity.