Death marks in the city - contesting the signature of gendered necropolitics in Vitória, Brazil

Bibliographic Data

ID4065951
AuthorsIgor Martins Medeiros Robaina (0000-0002-2188-5245, Universidad de Burgos, corresponding author), Paloma Barcelos Teixeira (0000-0002-6594-0533, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, corresponding author), J S Hutta (0000-0002-3261-9743, University of Bayreuth, corresponding author)
Year2025
Volume80
Issue3
Pages275-288
Publication date2025-09-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueGeographica Helvetica (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0016-7312 • E-ISSN: 2194-8798
PublisherCopernicus GmbH (PUBLISHER • DE)
DOI10.5194/gh-80-275-2025
OpenAlexW4413867960
LanguageEN
References cited44

Focusing on the aftermath of the abduction, rape and killing of an 8-year-old girl in Vitória, the paper argues that the violent event has left various traces that index a necropolitical power formation oriented towards hegemonic political and economic actors. The traces range from physical marks of violence to indications of obfuscation and manifestations of support for the aggressors. Such support was expressed, for example, by the city council's vote to retain a street name that honours the family of one of the alleged perpetrators. To analyse necropolitics through such traces, we draw on Mitchell Dean's discussion of the "signature of power" alongside works on feminicide, counter-forensics and contested toponymy. Thus reading necropolitics through its signature, we argue, sheds light on its specific context of formation and allows for scrutinizing the specific strategies and material elements through which necropolitics unfolds its deadly effects

Biopower · Political science · Politics · Signature (topology · Sociology · Anthropological Studies and Insights · Gender Studies · Gender, Security, and Conflict · Law · Public Spaces through Art