Black bodies (un)blemished

The book interprets aspects of female religious life in Brazil by listening to the life stories of black nuns. By focusing on the bodies of these black women, we come into contact with others who are in congregational environments, as well as with lay women. Through their (un)blemished bodies, their testimonies, but also their silences, dilemmas, and contradictions experienced before, as well as the paradoxes that arose with the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965). We find that the religious vocation of these black women dates back to the period of slavery, but they were frustrated by ecclesiastical, congregational, and secular authorities because of racism and prejudices linked to their black and female bodies. These bodies, institutionalized/standardized in a systemic, theological, and very violent way, tell us stories about various psychosomatic illnesses, including depression, uterine fibroids, and cancer. This book denounces the violence of racism and machismo, but also the problems arising from perpetual vows, especially those of obedience. Thus, it proposes the refounding of Catholic religious life in Brazil, in which black women are also protagonists.