Entre exuberância e mistério: subjetividades de mulheres ciganas nas interfaces entre educação e gênero

Abstract

This research had as proposal to think the following question: How the subjectivities of three Roma women have been constituted in a Roma community in the city of Juiz de Fora - MG? I used approximations with the post-structuralist and Foucaultian theoreticalmethodological perspectives, in addition to the contributions of Gender Studies to think about the experiences and processes of subjectification of these women. My attention turned to their narratives, in order to value their meanings and senses. I sought to problematize discourses and relations of knowledge-power involved in the process of constitution of these gypsies, taking into account gender issues and their relationship with education. Here, gender is understood as something under construction, showing that the differences perceived between men and women are social, historical and cultural. Education is understood in its broadest scope, as a process of constitution of the subjects. I agree that every relationship space is constituted as a pedagogical space, therefore, I consider it potent to problematize how Roma women are constituted in the middle of the educational processes present in the Roma community. Even if the relations of these Roma women are permeated by the internal social norms of Roma culture and are also affected by gender hierarchies, this does not mean a homogeneous imprisonment to a given discourse. My research set out to think Roma women beyond the domination / subordination dichotomy, as they are also resistances. Together with the three gypsies, I held fourteen meetings. We talked, laughed, shared anxieties, joys and dreams. These moments were enriched by the literacy work that I had the opportunity to develop together with these women within the gypsy camp. More than learning to read and write, these meetings have enhanced moments of discussion, reflection, respect for differences. In the process, we reframe our experiences and transform ourselves. This research gave visibility to the subjectivities that are constituted in different and singular ways. Contrary to crystallizing Roma women in fixed and stable identities, this work has invested in an understanding in which these identities are the result of cultural, social and historical processes and are constituted from discourses and relations of knowledge and power. Unlike other generations of gypsy women, the three gypsies are subjected to new discourses, artifacts and pedagogical devices. Although we share similar gender experiences, each of us experiences this experience of ―being a woman‖ in a specific and unique way.