The body and racism in the university trajectory of Zapotec women from the isthmus of Tehuantepec

Abstract

This article aims to describe the manifestations of racism experienced by a group of Zapotec women during their time in university and their effects on the processes of subject materialization. The methodology was qualitative and consisted of applying semi-structured interviews to women from the isthmus of Tehuantepec, Oaxaca. Through a theoretical approach drawn from body studies, feminist studies, and studies on racism in Mexico, this article shows that the experience of racism produces corporeal practices of erasure (borramiento). These are modifications in the ways of speaking, dressing, and expressing oneself, whose intention is to discipline and normalize the body. The testimonies reveal that the experience of racism produces feelings of loneliness, anger, and grief, hence the necessity to avoid it. However, this erasure has long-term effects: upon finishing university and returning to their communities of origin, the body is read as "suspicious," having erased the corporeal characteristics that constitute identity and belonging, such as the Zapotec language, accent, and the use of traditional clothing. This text intends to name the influence of racism on the becoming of subjects and its long-term effects, even after the university trajectory has concluded.