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Racial democracy as unspoken racism

In racial democracy, racial discourse entrenched itself in popular speech (aphorismatic, emotive, informal and private) by means of the not-said. That discourse, closed tied to paternalist and patrimonial power relationships, is established as a silence pact between dominant and dominated. The not-said is a device to say something without acknowledging the responsibility for saying it. Racist discourse employs several devices, including hidden meanings, ambiguities, figures of speech, jokes, commonplaces, racial insults and proverbs, thus shaping the non-intentional character of racial discrimination.

Racial democracy; Race relations; Stigmatization; Not-said


Departamento de Sociologia da Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas da Universidade de São Paulo Av. Prof. Luciano Gualberto, 315, 05508-010, São Paulo - SP, Brasil - São Paulo - SP - Brazil
E-mail: temposoc@edu.usp.br