Entre silêncios e teimosias: uma experiência de pesquisa sobre as mulheres negras na facção criminosa Bonde dos 40 (B-40) em São Luís/MA

Abstract

This research aims to understand the silences and stubbornness of the researcher in attempting to construct a narrative about the experiences of black women in the faction "Bonde dos 40" (B-40) in São Luís/MA. Black women have historically been excluded from a social system that does not provide them with basic conditions of existence, such as health, education, and social protection, leading them to take up precarious jobs or engage in illicit activities. They also comprise a significant portion of female incarceration in Brazil, being disproportionately affected by intersecting factors of race, gender, and class, and considered punishable individuals. The research proposes an interdisciplinary critical discussion of the gender and race oppressions that intersect, aiming to understand the various forms of violence and violations against black women, drawing from theories of intersectional black feminism and critical feminist criminology. Due to the impossibility of directly communicating with these women because of the prohibition imposed by the faction's men, an ethnography was conducted on the periphery of the faction in an attempt to understand the silences and refusals of the women belonging to the faction. Through bibliographic research and ethnographic research procedures (Eklert, 2008), we analyzed the silences and refusals of black women in the "Bonde dos 40" faction in São Luís, MA. The results indicate that within the faction, there is a male supremacy that involves power relations, where women lack visibility compared to men within the faction, expressing this through fear of speaking out, exposing themselves, and the possibility of being confronted by the organization. In this regard, the refusal and silence of these women are evident.