REFLECTIONS OF A COLONIZED MIRROR:

COLONIZATION, EUGENICS, AND THE AESTHETICS OF WHITENING

Abstract

This paper investigates the historical formation of hegemonic beauty standards in Brazil, examining their origins in the colonial period and their reconfiguration through eugenic theories in the post-abolition era. Drawing on the theoretical framework of coloniality of power (Quijano) and critical whiteness studies (Schwarcz, Bento), we demonstrate how the whitening ideal was operationalized through three key mechanisms: the implementation of selective immigration policies favoring Europeans between 1890-1970; the medicalization of Black and Indigenous phenotypic traits as pathological "deviations"; and the institutionalization of aesthetic hierarchies through scientific, educational and media apparatuses. The analysis reveals how these processes converged to naturalize whiteness as a standard of humanity, transforming European bodily features into implicit criteria of social, professional and affective worth. The study contributes to understanding the persistence of these structures today, where Eurocentric beauty standards continue to regulate access to opportunities and social recognition.