“I live in a very bourgeois world, I don’t live in the outskirts”: childhood non-vaccination and the intersection of race, class and gender

Abstract

This article analyzes how race, gender, social class and spatiality markers intersect and are reflected in health decision-making, more specifically in childhood (non)vaccination. This qualitative study was conducted in two Brazilian cities: Florianópolis (SC) and São Luís (MA), and included families with children up to six years old. This article analyzes the narratives of 19 caregivers in Florianópolis who chose not to vaccinate (fully or partially) the child(ren) under their responsibility. In-depth interviews and thematic content analysis were conducted. Gender was an important marker in intra-family decision-making, while social class, race and spatiality emerged as important markers in the perception of who are the “us” who don’t need vaccines and the “others” who do. The findings are discussed using the theoretical framework of whiteness and neoliberal parenting studies.