“Woman at the circle is not for decoration”! The feminist swing and changes in the tradition of Capoeira Angola

Abstract

This work presents a new scenario in capoeira angola provided by the participation and leadership of women in the groups. It is a recent phenomenon in the history of capoeira Angola: Angolan feminism. Starting from a feminist perspective, I intend to point out how the mechanisms used in traditional discourses that reproduce heteronormative behaviors and sexist classifications are being questioned and reframed. To develop my reflection on this new political scenario, I present the group Nzinga de Capoeira Angola, founded by a woman, master Janja, based in the city of Salvador. This group is a reference for the networks of capoeirista women who are forming around the world and drawing a feminist swing. In this respect, the participation of women is associated with the construction of other narratives with new political subjects, reconstructing the categories "woman" and "man", "femininity" and "masculinity", not as homogeneous and isolated units. In the Encounters of Capoeiristas Women, we seek to observe new forms of contestation and to denounce the gender inequalities present in capoeira. In the capoeira game, women create strategies to face the obstacles imposed by a patriarchal and hegemonic culture and learn to use the body as a political and self-defense weapon to play in life.