Brazilian Jiu-jitsu as a Marker of Whiteness and Anti-Blackness : Embodying Inclusive Conservative Conviviality in Rio de Janeiro

In Rio de Janeiro, Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) practitioners often perceive their sport as a discrimination-free space, stating: “On the mats, everyone is equal”. However, this belief in equality can sometimes obscure the fact that BJJ has been predominantly associated with Whiteness. This paper explores how the Gracie and Fadda lineages – crucial for the sport’s development – have distinctively constructed BJJ as a White sport, each for their own purposes. The Gracie lineage, associated with the city’s affluent South Zone, employs Whiteness to reinforce their distinguished position and supposed superiority in BJJ. The Fadda lineage, working in social projects in Rio’s low-income North and West Zones, uses anti-Blackness to avoid the association of their disciples with drug trafficking in favelas, aiming to offer them new life perspectives. I argue that Whiteness and anti-Blackness are constitutive elements linking the appeal of Bolsonaro and neoconservativism with communities typically expected to instead support other political forces more interested in progressive socio-political change. To analytically grasp the ambivalent conviviality of both BJJ lineages in today’s political current, I introduce the term “inclusive conservative conviviality”, which turns out to be crucial for understanding Brazil’s reactionary moment.