Note from BW of Brazil: Stop the press! Last night I was actually preparing new material for today’s post when I received a message from a friend asking if I was watching the Miss São Paulo contest on Band TV. To be truthful, I didn’t even know it was on! It was late but I decided to turn on the TV for a few minutes just out of curiosity. The contestants in these Miss competitions are usually vastly over-represented by women who look as if they just got off a plane from Europe (even in states with majority black populations) and I didn’t expect anything different from a state like São Paulo, a state in which about 66% of the population defines itself as white.
Well, I was right again.
Of the 30 women representing various cities throughout the state of São Paulo, only two were black. Both were pretty, brown-skinned women, one with straight hair and one with a beautiful “black” (afro).
To be honest, I didn’t really pay much attention to the show but as the finalists were narrowed down and then two women were left standing, including one of the black women, I admit I stopped editing the material I was working on…Then, it happened!
Congratulations are in order for Sabrina Paiva! She will now go on to represent the state of São Paulo in the Miss Brasil competition, where, in more than 60 years, ONLY ONE BLACK WOMAN HAS EVER WON!
Now of course, everyone’s not going to be happy with this victory and contrary to the myth that Brazilians believe “we are all equal”, some will express what they really feel.
Translation: “Zero chance in Miss Brasil. Sincerely, to stop the demagoguery of that there be a black woman in the finals, it would be better to create the Miss Black Brazil parallel to the traditional Miss Brasil, where the black women can also compete but without the obligation of the judges designating one that is beneath the rest of the white women.”
Here’s my position on the above comment. Of course I disagree with the idea that a beautiful black woman is “beneath” any white woman. One of the objectives of this blog is to demonstrate this. But on the other hand, I DO believe there should in fact be separate events, categories, etc. for whites, blacks, Asians, etc. (1) I’ve expressed this opinion on a number of previous posts. My reasoning is the following. Afro-Brazilians live in a society ruled by white supremacy, white standards of beauty and whiteness for which the entire society is judged. They, like other populations in other multi-racial societies will forever attempt to “prove” themselves to and be a part of the “mundo dos brancos” (world of the whites) and because of this constant desire to have that which of the white world, they will forever feel rejected and will always experience a sense of inferiority that they will continue to pass on to their children.
White people, Asian people and any other group of people have the right to see themselves as superior to any other group and cheer for their own in competitions. Black people should do the same. The problem is that whiteness is the dominant force that, through its media, propaganda, education, etc. imposes a sense of inferiority on non-white groups. One of the main problems in Brazil, racially-speaking, is that most people don’t want to be honest about how they feel. White Brazilians have shown time and time again that see themselves as superior to non-whites but most will continue to hide behind the rhetoric of “we’re all equal” because the ‘racial democracy’ myth is such a strong force in the nation’s history. Black (and brown) Brazilians also hide behind the ‘we’re all equal’ rhetoric while harboring a strong sense of the desire to be white. So of course the majority of people will decry my opinion as that of a racist, but if everyone were to be more honest about the racial situation, they would have to agree that having separate things for separate groups would solve the whole problem. With this solution, we wouldn’t have black people having to denounce the existence of only one or two black women in a contest and white people wouldn’t have the need to belittle the people of another group.
But hey, that’s just my two cents. For now, we will celebrate the new Miss São Paulo!
Sabrina Paiva is elected Miss São Paulo 2016
Courtesy of Ego with additional information from M de Mulher; all photos by Celso Tavares
The representative of the city of Caconde was chosen state representative in the beauty contest that took place on Saturday night the 28th.
After a close race that brought together 30 beautiful women, the 20-year old student of publicity of propaganda Sabrina Paiva, Miss Caconde, it was announced the winner of the Miss São Paulo 2016. The final of the beauty contest took place on Saturday night (28).
After a week of events and parades, Sabrina was chosen to represent the state in the national Miss Brasil 2016 contest. Second place went to Miss Ribeirão Preto Marina Andrade Lemos, and third went to the representative of the city of Americana Tayná Correia Pereira. Marjorie Masiero Bresler, from São Paulo, and Fernanda Alves dos Santos, of Ribeirão Preto, came in fourth and fifth respectively.
In an interview with Ego (website) on Thursday (27) the 5’11½” Sabrina Paiva, showed herself to be a perfect poster girl for advertising her city and made a question of asking if people knew of the place she lives, about 40 minutes from Poços de Caldas. She was one of only two black women participating in the contest and hoped to win the prize and get to Miss Brasil, where she dreams of being the second black Miss to represent the country. The first was Deise Nunes in 1986. “I feel prepared to win. It depends on what they want. But I would love (being the second black Miss Brasil). It would be a paradigm shift.”
The Miss São Paulo in 2016 happened at Citibank Hall, in São Paulo and included the presentation of Mariana Rios and Cássio Reis. During the event, the contestants paraded in full costume, swimsuit and bikini.
“Being here is representation. I want black women, girls and children to see me and have inspiration. My focus is also this, to show that black culture is beautiful, our nose, our mouth and our afro hair are wonderful. My dream was always to represent my culture and today I did it,” said the Miss after her victory.
Note from BW of Brazil: Another challenge for the Miss São Paulo were the expenses that must be covered for contestants to even compete in the contest. To put it simple, these contests are nothing cheap! To make their dreams come true, these women must often times put up a small fortune just for registration and all of the accessories necessary just to be considered. And this is not a small task as they must also be assured that the contest is legitimate and that they aren’t investing their money in a sham or mismanagement, as what unfortunately happened to a lot of women in Rio de Janeiro several months back.
Miss São Paulo in 2016 almost gave up the competition due to a lack of money
Sabrina Paiva, representing the city of Caconde, said she took a loan and asked for help from her neighborhood to participate in the competition.
By Rodrigo Soares
The joy of victory in the Miss São Paulo in 2016 was also a relief for Paiva. In an interview with Ego, she said she took a loan and asked for money from her neighbors to raise R$7,000, which were used to pay for the registration and buy clothes for the parade.
“I had no money, I left the city asking for help because I couldn’t afford to come. It was necessary to pay for the registration and looks for the show. It was a great battle to get this my dream that I’ve had since childhood. We took out a loan, asked for help, I asked for discounts. I did everything I could,” she recalls, without hiding her emotion.
Sabrina, who works in a clothing store in São José do Rio Pardo and studies Advertising and Propaganda in Guaxupé, Minas Gerais (a town near Caconde), says that she even thought about quitting because of the lack of funds.
“I said that if I couldn’t get the money and the clothes I would not go. I would have no way, right? It was not what I wanted, so we struggled a lot to be here, but at times I found it really wouldn’t work out. It’s still good that I didn’t give up,” she reflects.
Dulce Carvalho, her mother, was one of her biggest supporters for her to keep on moving. “Our life is not easy, but I couldn’t not support her dream or fail to help her. I rolled up my sleeves and went to fight. When she said she was not going to participate because of not having money, I said ‘you will yes, we’ll go after it’. And it’s so good that we persisted and everything went right,” says her mother.
With the trophy and the most beautiful woman sash of the state of São Paulo, Sabrina now has her eyes set on the Miss Brasil (contest), to be held in October. “I will prepare, I want get there with everything, I want to represent the state of São Paulo and Caconde, my city, well. Now I dream about winning the Miss Brasil,” she plans.
Source: Ego, M de Mulher, Conexão Penedo
Note
- The fact is that contests for only black women already exist in Brazil (see here, here or here) and thus is not a new concept even in a country in which many still don’t accept racism being a problem in the country.
Congratulations to Sabrina! To be honest, over the last year I have seen attempts at including Black people in higher profile places in Brazil (Black weather woman, dark skinned Globeleza girl, miss guided attempt at a tv show staring Black women, etc). Could it be that there are also people involved in these powerful organizations who are caught up in the current zeitgeist of “waking up to one’s Blackness” in Brazil? Could it be that they are finally acknowledging the Black faces in their own families? These efforts are, of course, not enough, but they are noteworthy. Undoubtedly, the racist trolls will come for this woman, but I hope the organizers will stand by their decision to choose her. I also hope that Black haters / un-woke coons don’t try to drag her down with their jealousy and insecurity.
Though they are small, events like these are significant and should be acknowledged. Looking through these pictures, I am sticken by how beautiful and striking this woman is standing next to all of the other women (all of whom are basically interchangeable copies of one another). I am proud of her for having the courage to rock her afro in this competition too! I hope the people around her will raise that money for her and support her if and when the haters come! It would be great if she could win the whole thing!
HELLO BAMBABRASILEIRA HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY !!!!!! ANYWAYS ANMON IS WRONG AND IGNORANT IM THE RIGHT ONE HERE NOT HIM I BEAT HIM IN THIS DEBATE HE DID NOT ANSWER BACK BECAUSE HE KNOW I’M RIGHT AND HE’S WRONG
TELL ME HONEY DO YOU REALLY THINK THAT AMERICA WAS THE ONLY COUNTRY THAT ATTRACTED EUROPEAN IMMIGRANTS DURING THE 1800S AND 1925 THINK AGAIN BRAZIL RECIEVED ALLOT OF EUROPEANS
LOOK AT THIS LIST BELOW TELL ME THESE 15 BRAZILIAN SOCCER PLAYERS WOULD THEY PASS FOR WHITE IN THE UNITED STATES I’M GIVING YOU 15 SOCCER PLAYERS THERE ARE OVER 500 WHITE BRAZILIAN SOCCER PLAYERS IN THE BRAZILIAN LEAGUE LIKE THESE GUYS BUT IM GIVING YOU ONLY 15 LOOK BELOW
THESE WHITE BRAZILIAN SOCCER PLAYERS WOULD EASILY PASS FOR WHITE IN THE UNITED STATES :
1. lucas leiva
2. rafinha bayern
3. neuton piccoli
4. nathan de souza
5. rafael forster
6. bressan gremio
7. neto brazil
8. rodrigo ely
9. marcelo hermes
10. moisés wolschick
11. felipe luis
12. Douglas Friedrich
13. Luan José Niedzielski
14. Ramiro Benetti
15. Gabriel Blos
CONGRATULATIONS SABRINA ITS TIME THAT WE NEED MORE DIVERSITY I’M ALWAYS TIRED OF SEEING WHITE MISS BRASIL’S ITS TIME THAT WE NEED A BLACK ONE YOU ARE SO PRETTY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
NOW THERE IS NO GUARANTEE THAT SHE WILL WIN MISS BRASIL BECAUSE SHE HAS TO COMPETE WITH OTHER STATES WHICH IS 27 STATES ACROSS BRAZIL IT WONT BE EASY FOR SABRINA BUT I WISH HER GOOD LUCK !!!!!!!
MRS. GATAS IN HER ARTICLE MENTIONS :
“”””””””””and I didn’t expect anything different from a state like São Paulo, a state in which about 66% of the population defines itself as white. “”””””””””””””””””””
ACCORDING TO THE IBGE(Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics)
SAO PAULO IS 66% WHITE NOW BLACKS AND PARDOS(MULLATOS OR MESTIZOS) ARE MINORITY IN SAO PAULO WHITES ARE MAJORITY IN THE CITY OF SAO PAULO ACCORDING TO THE IBGE SAO PAULO IS BRAZIL BIGGEST CITY !!!!!!!!
IF YOU THINK I’M LYING ABOUT SAO PAULO BEING 66% WHITE GO TO THE WEBSITE OF THE IBGE AND IT CLEARY SAYS 66% SINCE YOU DON’T BELIEVE IN WIKIPEDIA GO TO THE IBGE WEBSITE
NOW THE REASON BECAUSE SAO PAULO IS 66% WHITE IS BECAUSE DURING THE 1800 TO 1945 AND DURING WORLD WAR 1 AND WORLD WAR 2 MILLIONS AND MILLIONS OF EUROPEAN IMMIGRANTS IMMIGRATED TO SAO PAULO BECAUSE OF EUROPEAN IMMIGRATION SAO PAULO IS MAJORITY WHITE 66% DURING THE 1850 TO 1920 MILLIONS OF ITALIANS FROM ITALY ITALIAN IMMIGRANTS IMMIGRATED TO THE INDUSTRAIL CITY OF SAO PAULO
You need to come to my country the USA. Most of the white people here don’t see white Brazilians as white. In fact, they laugh at you when you call yourself white in the media. They see you as mesticos with a mix between white indigenous and African. They see you in the same light as “Mexicans” because that is what most of you so called white Brazilians are.
ACTUALLY AMON YOU ARE WRONG MANY BRAZILIANS FROM THE SOUTH OF BRAZIL WOULD EASILY PASS FOR WHITE IN THE UNITED STATES IN THE SOUTH OF BRAZIL DURING THE 1800S MANY GERMANS AND POLISH IMMIGRANTS IN THE MILLIONS IMMIGRATED TO THE SOUTH OF BRAZIL AND THEY BRANG THIER FAMILIES AND WIVES THEY DID NOT MIX WITH BLACK OR INDIANS YOU ARE WRONG MANY WHITE BRAZILIANS ARE PURE WHITES THEY ARE NOT MIXED WITH BLACK HAVE YOU EVER BEEN TO THE SOUTH OF BRAZIL ?????? YOU ARE SO IGNORANT AMERICANS ARE IGNORANT WHEN IT COMES TO GEOGRAPHY
AMON FOR EXAMPLE YOU SAID THAT WHITE BRAZILIANS WOULD NOT PASS FOR WHITE IN THE UNITED STATES ????? YOU ARE WRONG FOR EXAMPLE LOOK AT THESE BRAZILIANS WHITE SOCCER PLAYERS WOULD THESE SOCCER PLAYERS FROM BRAZIL BELOW PASS FOR WHITE IN THE UNITED STATES LOOK AT THE LIST
THESE WHITE BRAZILIAN SOCCER PLAYERS WOULD EASILY PASS FOR WHITE IN THE UNITED STATES :
1. lucas leiva
2. rafinha bayern
3. neuton piccoli
4. nathan de souza
5. rafael forster
6. bressan gremio
7. neto brazil
8. rodrigo ely
9. marcelo hermes
10. moisés wolschick
11. felipe luis
12. Douglas Friedrich
13. Luan José Niedzielski
14. Ramiro Benetti
15. Gabriel Blos
MOST OF THESE SOCCER PLAYERS ARE FROM THE SOUTH OF BRAZIL WOULD THEY PASS FOR WHITE IN THE UNITED STATES WHITE BRAZILIANS REPRESENT 49% OF THE BRAZIL POPULATION BUT WHITES ARE MAJORITY IN THE SOUTH 85 TO 90%
I am sorry bro. I am telling you what I know. In the US they don’t give a fuck how you look like. If they know that your ancestry is mixed you are not white period. There are many people in the US who look white but are classified as black because people know that their ancestors are black.
Jessica Alba is an example.
Most white Americans see no one in Brazil as white because they know that you mixed with Native Americans and African people. Even if you are a 90% white and look white in the US if you come from an ethnic group that had any type of mixing you are a mestico and you will NEVER EVER EVER be considered white in the US. You are a “Latino” to them.
I am sorry bro. I know you want to be white so bad, but no matter how hard you try, white people up here will never in a trillion years see you as an equal white person to them. I know it’s racist and it sucks, but that’s just the way it is. To them, a white person is someone who is 100% white and has no connection to other races.
THEY WILL NEVER SEE YOU AS WHITE NO MATTER HOW YOU LOOK OR WHERE YOUR ANCESTORS CAME FROM. THAT IS JUST HOW WHITE AMERICAN CULTURE IS.
Mistake: Jessica Alba is an example of someone that looks white and is classified as latina in the US.
Mariah Cary is an example of someone that looks white and is classified as a black woman in the US.
Rashida Jones is an example of someone that looks white and is classifies as a black woman in the US.
Again, they do not care one bit how you look. Its all about whether or not your lineage is 100% pure.
DID YOU LOOK AT THIS LIST MOST WHITE BRAZILIANS ARE PURE THERE NOT MIXED LOOK AT THESE SOCCER PLAYERS BELOW DID YOU EVEN SEE MY LIST ???????
LOOK AT THIS LIST BELOW TELL ME THESE 15 BRAZILIAN SOCCER PLAYERS WOULD THEY PASS FOR WHITE IN THE UNITED STATES I’M GIVING YOU 15 SOCCER PLAYERS THERE ARE OVER 500 WHITE BRAZILIAN SOCCER PLAYERS IN THE BRAZILIAN LEAGUE LIKE THESE GUYS BUT IM GIVING YOU ONLY 15 LOOK BELOW
THESE WHITE BRAZILIAN SOCCER PLAYERS WOULD EASILY PASS FOR WHITE IN THE UNITED STATES :
1. lucas leiva
2. rafinha bayern
3. neuton piccoli
4. nathan de souza
5. rafael forster
6. bressan gremio
7. neto brazil
8. rodrigo ely
9. marcelo hermes
10. moisés wolschick
11. felipe luis
12. Douglas Friedrich
13. Luan José Niedzielski
14. Ramiro Benetti
15. Gabriel Blos
JESSICA ALBA , MARIAH CARY , RASHIDA JONES WOULD NOT PASS FOR WHITE IN BRAZIL IN BRAZIL WE HAVE A SOMETHING CALLED PARDOS A PARDO CAN BE A MULLATO = BLACK + WHITE OR MESTIZOS = INDIAN + WHITE NOW NOT ALL BRAZILIANS ARE MIXED BLACKS IN BRAZIL ARE ONLY 7% OF THE POPULATION THE MULLATO POPULATION IS 20% SO THE TOTAL AFRICAN POPULATION IN BRAZIL IS 20% MULLATOS + 7% PURE BLACKS = 27% AFRICAN ANCESTRY IN BRAZIL MESTIZOS ARE NOT CONSIDRED BLACK MESTIZOS ARE 30% OF THE POPULATION THEY ARE PARDOS NOT WHITES
MESTIZO = WHITE PARENT + NATIVE INDIAN PARENT(DOES NOT HAVE BLACK BLOOD) AND ITS NOT CONSIDERED WHITE IN BRAZIL BY THE ONE BLOOD DROP RULE IN BRAZIL THEY USE THE ONE BLOOD DROP JUST LIKE IN THE UNITED STATES
PURE WHITES IN BRAZIL ARE 49% OF THE POPULATION( NOT MIXED WITH INDIAN OR BLACK ) REASON FOR THIS IS BECAUSE OF THE MASSIVE GERMAN AND POLISH IMMIGRATION TO THE SOUTH OF BRAZIL DURING THE 1800S
YOU THINK THAT THE UNITED STATES WAS THE ONLY COUNTRY IN THE WORLD THAT RECIEVED IMMIGRANTS IN ELLIS ISALND ?????? THINK AGAIN MANY EUROPEANS CAME TO BRAZIL JUST LIKE AMERICA THE USA WAS NOT THE ONLY COUNTRY TO RECIEVE EUROPEANS
It’s no use trying to talk to @WayneGio. He/She/It seems to be stuck in a schizophrenic mind loop that causes him/her/it 1) not to be able to understand anything you are saying and 2) obsess over the fact that there are “white” people in Brazil 😀
Also, I agree 150% with what you wrote!
The average white Brazilian is 20% Black. You are not pure to white people in the United States and they will never see you as white. I know what the white people in my own country think of you. I live here.
If you cannot accept this, I don’t know what else to say.
THATS BULL THE AVERAGE WHITE BRAZILIAN IS NOT 20% BLACK THAT IS A LIE YOU NEVER BEEN TO BRAZIL SO YOU CANT JUDGE ANYWAYS WHO CARES WHAT STUPID AMERICANS THINK OF BRAZILIANS WE KNOW WE ARE WHITE AND YES MANY BRAZILIANS WHO ARE WHITE FROM THE SOUTH WOULD PASS EASILY FOR WHITE IN THE UNITED STATES PLEASE DONT ARGUE WITH ME I LIVE IN THE UNITED STATES AND KNOW THE DIFFERENCE WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE TO JUDGE YOUR NOTHING IN LIFE TO JUDGE WE BRAZILIANS KNOW WE ARE WHITE WE DONT NEED STUPID AMERICANS TO TELL US THIS
ALSO BRAZIL HAS THE LARRGEST ITALIAN DESCENDANT POPULATION IN THE WORLD AFTER ITALY THERE ARE MORE BRAZILIANS OF ITALIAN ANCESTRY THAN IN THE UNITED STATES MORE ITALIANS IMMIGRATED TO BRAZIL THAN TO THE UNITED STATES
I’M WHITE BLONDE WITH BLUE EYES I’M BRAZILIAN OF GERMAN AND PORTUGESE DESCENDENT MY GREAT GREAT GREAT GREAT GREAT GRAND PARENTS LIKE MANY WHITE BRAZILIANS CAME FROM GERMANY AND PORTUGAL I’M IMMIGRATED TO BRAZIL DURING THE 1800S I’M NOT MIXED WITH BLACK OR NATIVE INDIAN I’M A PURE WHITE BRAZILIAN
AMON I KNOW YOU ARE AN AFRICAN AMERICAN AND BY THE WAY THE UNITED STATES IS NOT A WHITE COUNTRY ITS A BLACK COUNTRY AS WELL THERE ARE MORE BLACKS IN THE USA THAN BRAZIL GO SPREAD YOUR BLACK PRIDE SOMEWHERE ELSE BRAZIL I REPEAT BRAZIL IS NOT A BLACK COUNTRY ITS A DIVERSE COUNTRY WHERE WHITES AND BLACK AND MIXED PEOPLE LIVE
Wayne Gio: This is a direct question to you, if you do not respond to this question I will have no choice but to begin excluding your comments.
1) You have said repeatedly that you would stop posting comments. You even at one point asked that I delete your comments. WHY do you continue to post comments?
2) Why are you obsessed with promoting whiteness in your comments?
3) Why don’t you create your blog to share your views?
4) Are you against the traditional Brazilian discourse that says “we are all mixed”?
5) I have already written to you in numerous responses that I know white Brazilians exist. I have written that I’ve seen white Brazilians who would be white anywhere in the world and I have also seen light-skinned mestiços who would only be white in Brazil/Latin America.
6) Your assertion that there are more blacks in the US than in Brazil depends on opinion. I admit there are many mestiços who would be difficult to define as one race, but a large number of those pardos and mulatos WOULD in fact be classified as black in the US.
I would kindly request that you respond DIRECTLY to my questions. Your comments are coming across as being obsessive. You have actually admitted this in a past comment.
So I would kindly ask that you put an end to this diatribe.
Thank you,
The Management
In the US, you are a Latino not white. You are a mestico not white. White in the US is 100% White with no mixture.
Take a DNA test and then apologize to the few African and Native American ancestors that you have.
Congratulations to Sabrina! I further congratulate her on rocking her afro… this is a very strong message to all the Black girls and women out there: you are beautiful just the way God made you. I wish her the very best in the rest of the competition.
And she won with her cabello crispo(sp) no less. Congrats Sabrina, you are a beautiful woman, and I honour you for wearing your hair as it grows out of your head, may your achievement encourage young black girls to see their unique beauty and appreciate it,