Reflections on racism in health care and monitoring by the Bolsa Família Program

Abstract This study aims to analyze the narratives of primary healthcare providers in the municipality of Rio de Janeiro about people assisted by the Bolsa Família Program based on the concepts of racism and intersectionality. A participatory approach was adopted in this qualitative and evaluative research. Focus groups, hermeneutic groups, and an evaluation meeting were held. For each group, narratives were constructed by synthesizing the core arguments in participants’ discourse. Care for families monitored by health conditionalities is permeated by the notion of otherness. Moral judgments are made regarding people assisted by the program, who are seen as lazy and irresponsible, blaming women and disqualifying them as mothers. The structure of the produced narratives shows the underling racism. Genderized racism denies these women humanity and womanhood. There is a discomfort toward signs of female beauty, which are considered superfluous and evidence of misuse of the program, showing the desire to control women’s bodies and naturalize the precariousness of their living conditions. The reproduced institutional racism impacts care as it reaffirms vulnerabilities. Unveiling racism in these narratives is a tool to oppose it, enabling reflections, transforming practices, and contributing to the construction of anti-racist public policies.