O vestuário como expressão identitária entre um grupo de indivíduos na cidade de Maputo

Abstract

This work analyzes clothing as an expression of identity in the daily lives of a group of individuals in the city of Maputo. From the studies analyzed on this subject, I identified two perspectives. One that argues that clothing is an element of aesthetic expression as well as a form of social distinction, and another that explains that clothing is an element of claiming power and expressing gender. The aforementioned studies allow us to understand that what clothing expresses in individuals can vary from one social context to another, being used to cover the body, express aesthetics, social distinction, or claim power. However, other dynamics associated with the use of clothing remain to be understood. In this context, I conducted ethnographic work among some individuals in the city of Maputo. From the aforementioned work, I understood that the research participants demonstrated and displayed their attire at each festive event in which they participated. For the same reasons, they presented themselves with identical clothes, in colors or prints, as a way of identifying themselves as a group with closeness among its members and distinct from other people present at the events. The fact that the participants used clothing to identify themselves as a group distinct from other people leads me to understand that they use clothing as a means of claiming difference. The literature analyzed presents clothing as a manifestation of the cultural identity of a group or individuals who identify with a type of clothing appropriate for a particular social event.(TRADUÇÃO NOSSA)