"I Have to Know Who I Am"

ABSTRACT This dissertation explores black female identity in the literature of contemporary Afro-Brazilian writers Miriam Alves, Esmeralda Ribeiro, and Conceição Evaristo. The research approaches Alves poem "Estranho Indagar" (1983), Ribeiro's short fiction work "Ogun," and Evaristo's novel Ponciá Vicêncio utilizing Africana Womanist Theory. It situates Afro- Brazilian female writing within a global Africana Womanist paradigm and focuses on two of the theory's eighteen tenets,self-definer and self-namer to explore the concept of black identity in Afro-Brazilian female writing. Chapter One reviews the socio-cultural origins of the challenges of black female identity. It also proposes Africana Womanism as a methodology for examining black female identity in Brazil. Chapter Two surveys literature on twentieth century Brazilian racial ideology, Afro-Brazilian history, and activism, as well as the marginalization of Afro- Brazilian women from Brazilian history and the literary canon. Chapter Three focuses on the mãe preta and mulata stereotypes as the root cause of black female invisibilization, lack of socio-economic progress, and stifling of black female identity. Moreover, it contrasts currently utilized feminist theories and argues for the use of Africana Womanism as an appropriate global perspective for understanding and analyzing the lives of Afro-Brazilian women. Chapter Four applies the Africana Womanist tenets of self-namer and self-definer to the works "Estranho Indagar", "Ogun," and Ponciá Vicêncio to investigate the relationship between self-naming, self-definition and Afro-Brazilian female identity. Chapter Five summarizes the previous chapters, offers findings from the study, and suggests avenues of new research for future Brazilian and Brazilianist scholars.