Nomes que (des)conectam: Gravidez e parentesco no Rio De Janeiro

Abstract

This paper analyses the role of surnames in creating and affecting relatedness, seen from the perspective of namers, in this case middle-class pregnant women in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In particular, it explores women's decision-making process regarding which surnames to pass on to the expected child, given that in Brazilian society a person usually has surnames from both maternal and paternal families. Choosing surnames reveals not only the affective state of kinship ties, but also their relation to particular ethnic identities and social positions, and creates both continuity and differentiation between generations. In the selection process, connections are evaluated to be maintained and displayed or made obscure in the consciously constructed social insertion of the unborn child, whose personhood is already in creation and articulated to sociality.