Subjective effects of racism and care: lives and memories of black women

Abstract

Abstract Understanding racism as an integral part of Brazilian reality, constituting a social determinant of the health-disease process, this article seeks to reflect on the impacts of racism on subjectivity and contemplate the health care offered to black women. The reflections derive from a qualitative study using the biographical method, in which black women provided a narrative of their lives and experiences with racism. The narratives give visibility to the negative effects of living systematically under structural racism in the self-images of the interviewed women, as well as the lack of and/or poor effectiveness of public policies of integral health care to transform the status quo.