“Amefrican body-territory”: : an intersectional dialogue between community social psychology and the care practices of the Women of Quebrada Collective, BH

Abstract

This paper aims to present the practices of care and identity affirmation, developed in conjunction with the Coletiva Mulheres da Quebrada, in an intersectional dialogue with community social psychology and black feminism. This theoretical and methodological commitment is based on the recognition of the epistemological and methodological limitations of psychology, which gains potential when articulated with different knowledge and worldviews. We call for the blackening of psychology through the Afro-centered epistemic resumption, making it possible to construct emancipatory notions of subject and society. We present a set of practices carried out by ColetivA, which are based on the affirmation of society projects with a view to social transformation, the protection of life and a reorientation of care. To qualify the discussion, some analyzes produced from the scenes experienced in group psychosocial intervention meetings that took place between 2022 and 2023 will be presented, with women who frequent the ColetivA space. The scenes are presented based on the areas of activity in which ColetivA is structured (mental health, social assistance, sociocultural and self-care meetings). The path taken so far has made it possible to give new meaning to the identity of black women by highlighting their protagonism and calling on them to share responsibility for care. We can see how the promotion of mental health has brought symbolic and psychosocial benefits, through the affirmation of a self-concept, the construction of critical thinking and the mirroring of a collective identity.