Colorism, quotas, heteroidentification: notes on disputes and competition surrounding light-skinned brown and black people

Abstract

This article seeks to explore the tensions and disputes surrounding the issue of brown and light-skinned black people in the context of racial quota policies. Based on a critical analysis of heteroidentification, colorism, and how these dynamics affect racialization processes in Brazil, the article aims to reflect on the limits and challenges of the quota policy and the impacts of these policies on identity construction. It was found that the increasing rigor directed at the use of quotas by brown people based on suspicion of their identity calls into question the political category of “black,” a focal point of the racial debate in Brazil over the last 30 years.