First- Person Narratives in the Performative Practice of Marginalized Women and Decolonial Knowledge Production

Caroline Dias De Oliveira Silva

doi:10.1590/2237-266094925

Abstract

ABSTRACT The essay proposes a dialogue between feminist decolonial thinking and performance art, as they connect to my own experience in these fields. Based on the understanding that the decolonial perspective puts all Western conceptual and methodological categorizations under critical scrutiny, my objective is to advance discussion of performance by marginalized women, seeking to understand their role in the production of shared meanings through disruptive and anti-colonial writing. To this end, I examine performative actions that deploy such practices, which I understand as initiatives toward decolonization through embodied expression.

Highlights

RÉSUMÉ – Récit à la Première Personne dans la Pratique Performative des Femmes Marginalisées et Production Décoloniale des Connaissances – L’essai propose un dialogue entre la pensée décoloniale féministe et l’art de la performance en lien avec ma propre expérience dans ces domaines
In the fields of art and language, it has become a project of extreme urgency. The depth of this problem is linked to the fact that, historically, as Grada Kilomba notes (2019, p. 53 citing Irmingard Staeuble, 2007), colonialism meant “[...] the imposition of Western authority over indigenous land, indigenous modes of production, and indigenous laws and governments but the imposition of Western authority over all aspects of indigenous knowledge, languages, and culture”
With the goal of speculating on my issues through the essay form, I move on to expound some considerations on the urban performance Desmascarar o Abuso – Sair do Silêncio4 which performance artist Talita St and I created in early 2016 and has been kept alive until today through subsequent re-enactment by other women

Summary

Practice of Marginalized Women and Decolonial Knowledge Production

Caroline Dias de Oliveira SilvaI IUniversidade Federal da Bahia – UFBA, Salvador/BA, Brazil. Based on the understanding that the decolonial perspective puts all Western conceptual and methodological categorizations under critical scrutiny, my objective is to advance discussion of performance by marginalized women, seeking to understand their role in the production of shared meanings through disruptive and anti-colonial writing. To this end, I examine performative actions that deploy such practices, which I understand as initiatives toward decolonization through embodied expression. RESUMO – Narrativa em Primeira Pessoa na Prática Performativa de Mulheres Marginalizadas e Produção de Conhecimento Decolonial – O ensaio propõe um diálogo entre pensamento decolonial feminista e performance arte em conexão com a própria experiência da autora nesses campos.

Knowledge Production

Unmasking the Colonial Silencing Imposed on Marginalized Women