The cheapest meat on the market is black meat: notes on racism and obstetric violence against Black women

Abstract

This essay debates health inequalities by analyzing obstetric violence directed at Black women. We assume that institutional racism is an important interpretive key to understanding the dynamics of racial violence. We adopted the descriptive analysis of two stories published on the G1 website as a methodology to highlight the racism faced daily by Black women in health services. We found that racism (re)produces the denial of rights, non-access to health services, production of death, and non-realization of Good Living for Black families, and this is evidenced by producing and reproducing suffering, violence, and racism in its most diverse expressions. In this dynamic, implementing the National Comprehensive Health Policy for the Black population is an important mechanism for confronting racism in health.