Studying Quilombola Practices of Resistance on Instagram

Abstract

This article analyzes how processes of subjectivation are performed on the popular image-based social media Instagram by Djankaw, a black trans resident of a quilombo [a settlement founded by descendants of formerly enslaved African-Brazilians]. Following a Foucauldian analysis of discourse whereby power is seen to be exercised wherever there is resistance, we look at how Djankaw’s processes of subjectivation intersect with race, class, sexuality, and religion, becoming practices of resistance against hegemonic colonial narratives. Djankaw’s performances on the Internet instigate a productive debate over the African-Brazilian quilombola identity itself and resonate with the struggles of marginalized groups to reclaim their diverse time-spaces in the interior of Brazil. Djankaw’s posts and their embodied practices operate as sites to question the meanings of what it means to be black, trans, and quilombola [an inhabitant of a quilombo]. Further, the complexity of Djankaw’s subject positions is increased by their connection to different religions: they incorporate different spiritual practices that also orchestrate discussions on race, sexuality, and gender. While performing their selves on the internet, Djankaw mobilizes and re-shapes bodily social marks, at the same time that they participate in semiotic practices of resistance against the historical erasure of quilombola cultures in Brazil and claim their emancipation from colonialism.

Language, gender and sexuality in 2020

“…By constructing such precolonial chronotopes, the videos imagine Takatāpui identity as part of a broader intersectional revitalisation of Māori culture and as therefore not only a queer struggle but also a decolonial struggle. A similar intersectionality is discussed in Marques and Camargo's (2020) study of Instagram posts of the black trans artist Djankaw, who is a resident of a quilombo settlement in the interiors of Brazil and also the first author of the article. In Djankaw's carefully curated posts, their black trans body, adorned with mythical symbols and placed in nature, interrogates and challenges dominant ideas about race, ancestry, class, sexuality and religion in contemporary Brazil.…”