Paper short abstract:

In this paper I explore the ways in which Thalassaemia, a condition commonly associated with European ancestry, is articulated with ‘whiteness’ in contemporary Brazil, showing how understandings about race and drafted out of a combination of historical discourses and new genetic knowledge.

Paper long abstract:

Anthropological analyses of race in Brazil have historically emphasized the fluidity of its classificatory system and the emphasis on appearance and status rather than ancestry. Ethnographic studies have long noted how the category 'white' can encompass individuals who had a certain level of non-European ancestry. Public knowledge of such ancestry didn't prevent those individuals from self-classifying or being classified by others as 'white'. At the same time, particularly in some regions, having known European ancestry, especially of Northern European origin, conferred its bearer a higher prestige. Changes in discourses about race, embedded within the struggle against racism and State measures to reduce racial inequalities, also affect the ways in which 'whiteness' is crafted in contemporary Brazil, exemplified by the tendency of younger generations to self-classify as 'brown' or 'black' when compared to their parents. At the same time, genetic techniques of ascertaining ancestry, whether in the shape of media reports about expensive and restricted genomic profiling, or the expansion of cheaper technologies in the field of healthcare, such as neonatal testing for variant haemoglobins, have meant an increase in knowledge about biological ancestry. In this paper I explore the ways in which Thalassaemia, a condition commonly associated with southern European ancestry, is articulated with 'whiteness' in contemporary Brazil. Analyzing the medical literature on the condition, as well as patients' discourses, I show the ways in which understandings about race are drafted out of a combination of historical discourses and new genetic knowledge.