1. Chapter 1: Laughter "Out of Place"
1.1. First Arrival
1.1.1. Return to "Felicidade Eterna" shantytown at New Year's
1.1.1.1. Poverty and wealth
1.1.1.2. New Year's celebrations: Communitas
1.1.1.2.1. Regardless of race, class, gender, violence
1.1.2. Gloria
1.1.2.1. 14 children, real and adopted
1.2. "Carnival: The Ephemerality of Laughter & Forgetting"
1.2.1. Poor/marginalized criticize elite culture
1.2.2. Poor dress as rich, the rich parade in the streets
1.2.2.1. Hierarchies turned upside down
1.2.3. Rules/realities forgotten
1.3. "Habits of Class and Domination"
1.3.1. POWER, HEGEMONY, IDEOLOGY
1.3.1.1. Habitus maintains class-divided social structure
1.3.1.2. "Black Humor"
1.3.1.2.1. Based on racial, class, and gender ideology
1.3.1.3. Cultural Hegemony
1.3.1.3.1. supports the ruling class' domination over others
1.4. "Return to Laughter"
1.4.1. Everyday humor "carnivalesque"
1.4.1.1. Pokes fun at wealthy
1.4.1.2. Makes fun of miserable situations/circumstances
1.4.1.2.1. Gloria's family laughed after reminiscing about the poor treatment of Zeca while he was in the hospital
1.4.1.3. Masks personal feelings that are too painful to directly deal with
1.4.1.3.1. How Gloria's family coped with the loss of Zeca
2. Chapter 2: The Aesthetics of Domination
2.1. Serving Class "The Struggle to Earn a Living Wage"
2.1.1. Feminization of workforce
2.1.1.1. Most women participate in domestic work
2.1.1.2. Women are the most disadvantaged in the workforce, at the bottom of the social hierarchy
2.1.2. More children entering the workforce
2.1.3. Work long days with minimum pay, not enough to live on
2.2. Middle Class
2.2.1. Defined by the dependence on others
2.2.1.1. "cultivated dependence"
2.2.1.2. Most middle class does not even know how to cook/clean
2.2.2. Expected to have people cook and clean for them
2.3. "Poverty in Brazil and Rio de Janeiro"
2.3.1. Unequal distribution of wealth
2.3.2. Two class distinctions seen as a bystander: Opulence and poverty
2.3.3. "Social apartheid"
2.4. "From Slavery to Servitude"
2.4.1. Gloria entered workforce at 14
2.4.1.1. Uses "black humor" to describe her experiences
2.4.1.2. Left job with little more than she started with
2.4.2. Labor industry mirrors slavery
3. Introduction: "Hard Laughter"
3.1. Shantytowns of Brazil
3.1.1. Residents under control of powerful "outside forces", feel "divorced" from them (they take no part in these forces, yet they have so much influence over them)
3.1.2. Humor
3.1.2.1. Goldstein saw the residents' humor as a window into their pain, suffering, and hardships ("Black humor")
3.1.2.2. LAUGHTER IS EVERYWHERE
3.1.2.2.1. Across gender, race, class, and sexual hierarchies
3.1.2.2.2. Has a role in power relations, hegemony
3.1.2.3. Used by the poor as an outlet for political and social commentary (talking about the "hard" subjects")
3.1.2.3.1. "Carnivalesque"
3.1.3. Women
3.1.3.1. Historically excluded from the "public sphere"
3.1.3.2. Illiterate and oppressed
3.1.3.3. Women's culture suppressed
3.1.3.4. Domestic Workers
4. Chapter 3: Color-Blind Erotic Democracies
4.1. Skin Color & Class Relationships
4.1.1. In Brazil, race is not a dichotomy (black/white), but a color spectrum
4.1.1.1. Lighter the skin, higher the class
4.1.1.2. Dark skin assoc. w/ slavery, considered dirty/ugly
4.1.2. Mixed race/black women w/ "whitened characteristics" appreciated for beauty/sensuality
4.1.2.1. Mixed/black women WITHOUT white characteristics of low-incomes banned from social/economic mobility
4.1.3. "Black Cinderella"
4.1.3.1. Ana Flávia Peçanha Azeredo
4.1.3.2. Black woman assaulted for holding elevator "too long"
4.1.3.3. Assailants unknowingly assaulted governor's daughter
4.2. Poverty in Brazil
4.2.1. Class, not race problem
4.2.2. Brazil never had race-based affirmative action (civil rights movement)
4.2.3. Favelas
4.2.3.1. Favela aka slum=class marker in Rio
4.2.3.2. lighter-skinned people believed to have better chances of success
4.2.3.2.1. i.e. job opportunities, possibility of leaving shantytowns, etc.
4.2.3.2.2. Even though research disproved this, the belief still exists
4.3. Eroticism, Race Relations, & Social Mobility
4.3.1. Women think best way to get ahead & move out of favela=seducing coroas (older, richer, white men)
4.3.1.1. "mulata"=an eroticized fantasy of coroas
4.3.1.2. "golpe do baú"=treasure chest coup means a successful seduction
4.3.1.3. Glória's friend Janaía
4.3.1.4. "Black Cinderella Story"=story of hope
4.4. Brazilian Sexuality
4.4.1. Race/color connected w/ Brazilian historical representations of sex
4.4.2. Interracial sexuality since Brazil's colonization
4.4.3. Miscegenation of Brazil=product of domination, coercion, rape
4.5. Discourses (and Silences) on Race
4.5.1. Sexuality widely represented in scholarly work
4.5.2. Race absent from scholarly work
4.5.2.1. Writing about race="taboo"
4.5.2.2. Writing about race in regards to sexuality even more unheard of
4.5.2.2.1. "Ambiguities involved in the sexualization of racialized bodies"
4.5.2.2.2. Form of cultural censorship
4.5.3. b/c it's difficult to address this topic, people resort to silence, jokes, stories, innuendos
4.5.3.1. Form "hidden discourse"
4.6. Hierarchies of Beauty & Social Mobility
4.6.1. being mixed/black female not enough for social mobility
4.6.1.1. Glória's friends overcame "negatively valued" dark skin by SUCCESSFULLY seducing a coroa
4.6.2. Erotic Democracies & Hierarchies of Beauty
4.6.2.1. White=highest category of beauty
4.6.2.2. Mulata (not all, but a PARTICULAR combination of black & white characteristics)=high status of beauty
4.6.2.3. All-African characteristics=ugly/dirty, lowest
4.6.3. By categorizing by skin tone, racializes attractiveness/beauty
4.6.4. Glória & Isadora
4.6.4.1. Isadora wants to send 2 white daughters to modeling school
4.6.4.2. Both silent about Glória's daughters (silent discourse) b/c not white enough to be considered beautiful models
4.6.5. "Two Kisses"
4.6.5.1. visiting one of Glória's employers, coroa kissed Goldstein, not Glória/Janaína
4.6.5.1.1. Racist gesture
4.6.5.1.2. Sign of physical/intimate rejection
4.7. Internalized Racism & Social Mobility
4.7.1. Glória's nephew Roberto (dark skinned moreno) impregnated Geni, a morena
4.7.1.1. Glória disapproves of Geni b/c she's "beneath" him
4.7.1.2. Geni restricts Roberto's potential for social mobility
4.7.1.3. Glória joked about skin color & "monkeys" to express disappointment/disapproval of Geni
4.7.1.3.1. Her skin color makes her "beneath" Roberto
4.7.1.3.2. "Expressing the inexpressible", the hidden discourse, using humor
4.7.1.3.3. Directly talking about race=impolite/shameful
4.7.2. Racial hegemony
4.7.3. "Movimiento Negro"
5. Chapter 4: No Time for Childhood
5.1. Visit with Pedro Paulo
5.1.1. Glória's oldest son
5.1.2. Refused to make nothing at an "honest" job (basically slavery)
5.1.3. Leader of Comando Vermehlo (Red Command), a drug trafficking gang
5.1.4. Glória & Goldstein visited Pedro in prison
5.1.5. Died in police shoot-out
5.1.5.1. Glória had "no tears" for Pedro's death
5.1.5.2. She tried to reason w/ him for years
5.2. The Killing Streets
5.2.1. Growing violence in the streets
5.2.2. Death squads routinely exterminate street children
5.3. Home Children, Street Children, & Institutionalized Children
5.3.1. Children are both victims & participants in urban violence
5.3.2. Nurtured vs. Nurturing children
5.3.2.1. Nurtured= coddled children of middle-class families
5.3.2.2. Nurturing=poor children forced to take on serious responsibility to support the family
5.3.2.2.1. join gangs, deal drugs, beg, steal
5.4. Mirelli's Story
5.4.1. Glória's goddaughter and cousin
5.4.2. lived a comfortable life (little house and yard)
5.4.3. Mirelli's father forced mother to sleep w/ another man
5.4.3.1. Both parents became alcoholics
5.4.4. Mother died, Mirelli & sisters lived mostly on street
5.4.4.1. Sexually abused
5.4.5. Moved in w/ Maria Antônia, who send them to FUNABEM
5.4.5.1. 1st 3 months=clean facility, well-fed
5.4.5.2. Transferred to Campo Grande
5.4.5.2.1. dirty, overcrowded
5.4.5.2.2. Administrators punitive, beat/sexually abused girls
5.4.5.3. Mirelli completed 4th grade
5.4.6. Had kids @ 14
5.4.7. "State institutions are a breeding ground for criminals"
5.5. Lucas's Story
5.5.1. Mother (Celina) died, lived w/ godmother, & later Aunt Rosineide
5.5.1.1. Lived in extreme poverty with Rosineide
5.5.1.2. Glória rescued Lucas from this household
5.6. Gloria's Children
5.6.1. took in children in need, rescued them
5.6.2. banished children from house b/c of disrespect and misconduct
5.6.3. has own style of justice & expectations for her children
5.6.3.1. encourages "honest work" to keep them out of gangs
5.6.3.2. harsh punishment keeps children out of prison, in line, & alive
5.6.3.2.1. "survivalist ethos"
5.6.3.3. she does this b/c there is no time to be a child in favelas
6. Chapter 5: State Terror, Gangs, & Everyday Violence in Rio de Janeiro
6.1. Crime and Violence in Rio
6.1.1. Adilson (Glória's ex son-in-law murdered by local gang
6.1.2. middle/upper class Brazilians not exposed to same crime as lower class
6.1.3. different favelas exposed to different levels of violence
6.1.3.1. Shantytowns less stable, more susceptible to violence
6.1.4. criminalization of poor
6.1.5. "Brown zone"=favelas
6.1.5.1. areas w/ little to no state presence
6.1.6. Religious conversion to oppose violence
6.2. Gangs
6.2.1. Protect favela from outside danger
6.2.2. Ivo, Braga, Breno, Dilmar
6.2.3. Offer work to young men ("seduction")
6.2.4. Extensive control of favelas
6.2.4.1. Legal/moral justification for government to use excessive force
6.2.4.2. Drug chiefs Important figures
6.2.4.2.1. Provide needed services (food, cash, employment)
6.2.5. Cycles of peace and unrest in favelas
6.2.6. Similar to organized crime, lacks organization & connection to the state
6.3. Law Enforcement and Revenge
6.3.1. Lower class disdain for police authority
6.3.2. violence & murder used by both bandits & police
6.3.3. gangs provide justice system based on revenge
6.3.4. When off duty, police officers in "death squads", settle own personal disputes
6.3.5. Unreliable policing system leads to cycles of revenge
6.3.6. gangs settle disputes like:
6.3.6.1. abuse
6.3.6.2. sexual abuse/rape
6.3.6.3. gun control
6.3.6.4. adultery
6.3.6.5. theft
7. Chapter 6: Partial Truths, or the Carnivalization of Desire
7.1. Sexuality in the Context of Local Culture
7.1.1. Machismo
7.1.1.1. Male sexuality part of public and private sphere
7.1.1.2. Female sexuality confined to the home
7.2. Discourses of Sex-Positiveness
7.2.1. Centrality of sex in Brazilian social life
7.2.1.1. Open, permissive approach
7.2.2. Sexual teasing/banter
7.2.2.1. Messages transmitted through sexual humor
7.2.2.2. Ageless
7.3. Carnivalization of Desire
7.3.1. Brazil's "self-promoted eroticized tropical-paradise"
7.3.1.1. body liberation
7.3.1.2. form-fitting, revealing clothes
7.3.1.3. public flirtation
7.3.1.3.1. not objectifying, but complementary
7.3.1.3.2. being sexually desired is important to women
7.3.1.3.3. women are insulted by being ignored by men
7.3.2. Brazilian Homosexuality
7.3.2.1. Upper Class
7.3.2.1.1. European/North American import
7.3.2.1.2. Sexuality/Social identity connected with one's sexual object choice
7.3.2.2. Lower Class
7.3.2.2.1. Model of active/passive partnership
7.3.2.2.2. Homens
7.3.2.2.3. Bichas
7.3.3. Feminists
7.3.3.1. find difficulty voicing issues like the body/sexuality
7.3.3.2. Often find voice in humor
7.3.3.2.1. Critiques everyday sexuality
7.4. Local Sexual Culture in Felicidade Eterna
7.4.1. Sexual/Eating Metaphors
7.4.1.1. "Comer"
7.4.1.1.1. to eat
7.4.1.1.2. to consume another person sexually (male sexuality)
7.4.1.2. "Dar"
7.4.1.2.1. to give
7.4.1.2.2. women are metaphorical receivers, and they "give"
7.4.1.3. One is defined as one who eats or who is eaten (not by WHAT you consume, male/female)
7.4.1.4. Women take control by "eating men" and not letting men "eat them"
7.4.2. Complaints of the Women in Felicidade Eterna
7.4.2.1. Women expect men to be providers, but they are inadquate
7.4.2.1.1. Women actively search for an adequate male to replace partner
7.4.2.2. Not to be trusted in terms of fidelity
7.4.2.2.1. Male sexuality perceived as animal-like, uncontrollable
7.5. From Boys to Men: Normative Masculinization & Heterosexuality
7.5.1. Class-specific sexuality regimes
7.5.1.1. working class: even if they aren't wealthy, they are blessed with sex
7.5.1.2. Unhealthy for men to go without sex for too long
7.5.1.3. Boys should be provided with sexual experiences so they can fulfill their sexually active role
7.5.1.3.1. encouraged/expected to become active seducers
7.5.1.3.2. Glória wanted Lucas to visit a prostitute
7.5.1.4. Double standards
7.5.1.4.1. Men naturally need access to sex
7.5.1.4.2. Women stay virgins until they have a man who can support them
7.6. Sacanagem, Transgression, & Female Boundary Setting
7.6.1. Sacanagem
7.6.1.1. Links "notions of aggression & hostility, play & amusement, sexual excitement, & erotic practice in a single symbolic complex"
7.6.1.2. can be good (pleasure) or bad (humiliation)
7.6.2. Padastros (step-fathers)
7.6.2.1. Sexual abuse
7.6.2.1.1. Not accepted, but understood to a degree because of the nature of men
7.6.2.2. Men outside family unit, considered dangerous/a threat
7.6.2.2.1. Women feel need to protect children from them
7.6.2.2.2. "The one who raises you does not eat you"
7.7. Partial Truths
7.7.1. Aspects of Local Sexual Culture
7.7.1.1. "Poor women left as guardians against a socially constructed transgressive male sexuality"
7.7.1.1.1. Women choose to remain with an abuser/potential abuser
7.7.1.2. Teenagers are believed to be sexual/have sexual desires
7.7.1.3. Boys are "trained for manhood"
7.7.2. Result of Cultural Sexual Beliefs
7.7.2.1. Create epidemic of child abuse
7.7.2.2. Identify an "expectation" of sexually transgressive male behavior
7.7.2.2.1. "this is how men are"
7.7.2.2.2. boys taught to act aggressively/predatory when it comes to sexual behavior
8. Chapter 7: What's So Funny About Rape?
8.1. Marília fails to poison husband
8.1.1. Symbolizes how all of her attempts to better her life fail
8.2. Evening of Terror in Duque de Caxias
8.2.1. Glória's daughters raped
8.2.2. Sexuality, violence, and female victimization dealt with through humor
8.2.2.1. Glória and family retell the story with laughter
8.3. Battling Mothers & Daughters
8.3.1. Glória/Anita use story of rape to voice their different opinions
8.3.1.1. Humor as a weapon
8.3.2. Glória forbids teenage pregnancy
8.3.2.1. Her children must leave house if they become pregnant
8.3.2.2. Anita used rape to conceal cause of her own pregnancy
8.3.2.2.1. Glória helped Anita abort
8.3.2.3. Glória's frustration over men's obligation to provide financial support
8.3.2.3.1. Tired of supporting her boyfriends along with her children
8.3.2.3.2. Wants daughters to demand economic support from their boyfriends
8.4. Legal Universe & Rape
8.4.1. Use humor to express trauma
8.4.1.1. "Laughter through tears"
8.4.1.2. Abuse of women by feuding gangs
8.4.1.3. Misplaced priorities of stepfathers
8.4.1.4. Desire of women for men to provide economic stability
8.4.2. Women unlikely to report crimes (like rape) to police
8.4.2.1. distrust in authorities
8.4.3. Cultural norms of dominant class embedded in legal system
8.4.3.1. makes act of rape (and other crimes) hard to adjudicate in court
8.4.4. Courts stuck in "anachronistic understandings of class, gender, & sexuality"
8.4.4.1. So, women (especially lower class) have little to no legal recourse
8.4.4.1.1. best option is to seek protection of another man (even if abusive)
8.5. Black Humor as the Only Response
8.5.1. Humor a natural response to life's impossible circumstances
8.5.1.1. response to a moral/legal system unable to address the grievances of women in dominated class
8.6. Conclusions
8.6.1. Daily structure of race, class, sexuality, & gender
8.6.1.1. Women in Rio's shantytowns use humor to show how they experience/understand their lives
8.6.1.1.1. At the end of the day, all they can do is laugh
8.6.1.1.2. Women mediate perspectives on sexuality in a society that is so sex-positive, but does little to protect the bodies of young girls and women from transgressive male behavior
8.6.2. Democratic overhaul needs to happen
8.6.2.1. Reform of police forces
8.6.2.2. Elimination of gang control
8.6.2.3. Apply law to all regardless of class, race, or gender
8.6.2.4. Process is slow