Gender, race and social class in decolonial critical discourse studies

Abstract

Reflection on coloniality in Latin America represents an epistemic advance in the critique of racism and the traditional and conservative perspective of gender. In this reflection, there are three lines of investigation: decolonial studies, subaltern studies and postcolonial studies. Following the decolonial line, my purpose is to debate the intersectionality of gender, race and social class in critical discourse studies. Considering the heterogeneity of identities, which are discursive constructions in relationships often marked by social inequality, one can highlight violence practiced on women’s bodies, mainly black and indigenous women. There is a strong connection between gender, language and body, which can be seen in fights, beating and  murder of women, with a high occurrence of feminicides. The intersectionality of gender and race is strongly linked with social class. Thus, it is possible to say that the inequalities of gender, race and social class of the colonial project can still be seen, and they can be noted in violence against black and indigenous women. As discourse is a dimension of social practices, it is argued that the great contribution of decolonial critical discourse studies for the analysis of that problem lies in the experience of critical analysts in textual analysis.