Between identity and difference

strategic essentialism in the construction of black women’s collectivity in the work of Conceição Evaristo

Abstract

This article examines the construction of Black female collectivity in Insubmissas lágrimas de mulheres, by Conceição Evaristo, focusing on the interplay between identity and difference. Grounded in the author’s critique of the historical representation of Black women in Brazilian literature—often reduced to racist and sexist stereotypes—the study explores how Evaristo employs a strategic essentialism to reclaim and reframe such representations. Motherhood, resistance, and shared memory emerge as key elements in shaping a collective experience that, while internally diverse, affirms solidarity among women. Drawing on theorists such as bell hooks and Audre Lorde, the article argues that difference, rather than impeding unity, becomes the basis for a collective identity. Evaristo’s work articulates a literary form that challenges the dichotomy between the individual and the collective, amplifying multiple Black female voices that, in narrating their lives, establish a political space of enunciation and belonging. In this way, the text contributes to ongoing discussions about contemporary forms of figuration of the collective in Brazilian literature, particularly through narratives shaped by the intersection of gender, race, and class.