The Descendants of Japanese Immigrants in Brazil and “Eye Westernization Surgery”

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DOI:

https://doi.org/10.22409/antropolitica2022.i1.a47586

Palavras-chave:

Immigration, Japanese-Brazilian, Ethnic Identity, Beauty

Resumo

This article examines some of the contemporary forms of invention and construction of Japanese-Brazilian identity. For these purposes, I concentrate on the body practices referred to as “westernization” in which Japanese-Brazilians have engaged – in particular, “eye westernization” surgery. In the case of the nikkei, the shape of the eyes is the physical trait that most sharply elicits “appearance- based racism.” Racism and discrimination, which focus on phenotype, exist in direct relation to the more than hundred year presence of the Japanese and their descendants at the heart of Brazilian society, that is, in a country that is home to the largest Japanese community outside of Japan. These “westernization” body practices, as well as the beauty standards they give expression to, act and react upon Brazilian society, shaping the group’s ethnic and social profile.

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Biografia do Autor

Mônica Raisa Schpun, École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales

Pesquisadora livre-docente do Centre de Recherches sur le Brésil Colonial et Contemporain da Ecole des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales. Doutorado em História - Université de Paris VII (1994) e Post-Doutorado na Università degli Studi di Milano (1998-2000).

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Publicado

2022-04-01

Como Citar

Schpun, M. R. (2022). The Descendants of Japanese Immigrants in Brazil and “Eye Westernization Surgery”. Antropolítica - Revista Contemporânea De Antropologia, 54(1). https://doi.org/10.22409/antropolitica2022.i1.a47586

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