RESISTING AT THE INTERSECTION OF SYSTEMS OF OPPRESSION: INTERSECTIONALITY AND THE PRODUCTION OF MENTAL HEALTH AMONG QUILOMBOLA WOMEN IN GRILO/PB
Quilombola women, Intersectionality, Social determination of mental health.
This study analyzed the mental health production conditions of rural quilombola women in the
community of Grilo, in the state of Paraiba - where land regularization is still underway - from
the perspective of intersectionality and the social determination of mental health. The relationship
between mental health and society is addressed in this study, emphasizing the importance of a
collective and contextualized approach. The research, qualitative in nature, followed the
principles of Popular Education, problematization as a way of developing a critical awareness of
the reality under analysis, and used intersectionality in a transversal way. Participatory research
was adopted as the methodological approach and sought an in-depth understanding of the
experiences of quilombola women, including observing participation, mediating group activities
and individual interviews. The researcher's perceptions were recorded in field diaries, since his
interaction with the group was fundamental for producing information throughout the process of
participant-observation. The focus on dialogicity suggested that changes in thinking can be
accompanied by transformative actions and that new experiences enable a change in
consciousness through a process of action-reflection-action. We believe that the Culture Circle
was a powerful tool for research and care because, based on the problematizations, it made it
possible to articulate the unique dimensions of how the intersections of systems of oppression are
present in their bodies-territories and how they are recognized in a collectivized reflection, as
well as making it possible to build and strengthen collective practices of care and resistance to the
problems experienced in daily life, delving into the aspects that shape their relationships with
local knowledge, the territory and the solidarity networks of social support and care among
women.