Bom Jesus
Nancy Scheper-Hughes conducted her anthropological research in Alto do Cruzeiro, Bom Jesus, a shantytown located in the poorest region of Brazil. Poor economic standing, lack of familial support and desperate working conditions in this community have contributed to the normalization of infant death and selective motherhood.
Alto do Cruziero suffers economically in the aftermath of a deleterious military coup in 1965. This Northeast region of Brazil represents the Third World while other areas of Brazil flourish as a swiftly developing nation. Due to extreme poverty, the life expectancy is a short forty years. Children born in these shantytowns suffer greater risks of death due to a lack of caretakers, healthcare and safe living conditions. …show more content…
This cultural practice has become normalized, so the expected grieving emotions of intense sadness, guilt, regret and resentment are not present at the death of a young child. As seen in Scheper-Hughes’ anecdote about Zezinho and his mother Lourdes, selective neglect is an understood and permissible concept. Lourdes left a young, malnourished Zezinho for dead at the birth of her second, more healthy child. Scheper-Hughes took over as caretaker for Ze and saved his life. Upon returning to Alto do Cruziero, Scheper-Hughes found, to her surprise, there were no feelings of guilt, regret or resentment between Ze and his mother. Similar emotions are also culturally unacceptable during funerals. It is regular Alto practice to give condolences to grieving mothers by saying it is a shame the infant was weak and Jesus had to take them. This expression of condolences places blame for death at the hands of God, not the mother. It is culturally inappropriate to grieve or cry at the death of a child for it shows symptoms of madness or a lack of faith.
The culturally passed tradition of selective neglect further perpetuates the issue of high infant death rate. Children who survive are exposed to many infant deaths and quickly learn to model their mother’s reactions to infant death. However, children in Bom Jesus admitted to Scheper-Hughes in secret, that they were aware infants die from malnourishment, however their mothers have taught them not to acknowledge this
Alto do Cruziero suffers economically in the aftermath of a deleterious military coup in 1965. This Northeast region of Brazil represents the Third World while other areas of Brazil flourish as a swiftly developing nation. Due to extreme poverty, the life expectancy is a short forty years. Children born in these shantytowns suffer greater risks of death due to a lack of caretakers, healthcare and safe living conditions. …show more content…
This cultural practice has become normalized, so the expected grieving emotions of intense sadness, guilt, regret and resentment are not present at the death of a young child. As seen in Scheper-Hughes’ anecdote about Zezinho and his mother Lourdes, selective neglect is an understood and permissible concept. Lourdes left a young, malnourished Zezinho for dead at the birth of her second, more healthy child. Scheper-Hughes took over as caretaker for Ze and saved his life. Upon returning to Alto do Cruziero, Scheper-Hughes found, to her surprise, there were no feelings of guilt, regret or resentment between Ze and his mother. Similar emotions are also culturally unacceptable during funerals. It is regular Alto practice to give condolences to grieving mothers by saying it is a shame the infant was weak and Jesus had to take them. This expression of condolences places blame for death at the hands of God, not the mother. It is culturally inappropriate to grieve or cry at the death of a child for it shows symptoms of madness or a lack of faith.
The culturally passed tradition of selective neglect further perpetuates the issue of high infant death rate. Children who survive are exposed to many infant deaths and quickly learn to model their mother’s reactions to infant death. However, children in Bom Jesus admitted to Scheper-Hughes in secret, that they were aware infants die from malnourishment, however their mothers have taught them not to acknowledge this