Resumen:
This research presents an ethnographic understanding of how young Black men from the
outskirts of the city have related to their hair, given the context of widespread violence that
affects this group. To this end, field research was conducted in a barbershop in Camaçari, in the
metropolitan region of Salvador-BA. This establishment proved to be a venue for friendly
meetings, conversations on various topics of interest, but also violence. In the barbershop, a
hair style called “thief’s cut” composes an aesthetic valued among the group. Based on the
better-known category “brau”, I situate the particularity of the interlocutors of the research.
They stand out for an aesthetic production that values very specific types of clothing,
accessories and hair. If, on the one hand, this aesthetic becomes a reason for discrimination, on
the other hand, through it, they articulate an anti-racist position. The constant episodes of
violence during the fieldwork demonstrate how young Black men live in a challenging context.
A murder changed the course of the barbershop, affecting my research and culminating in the
closure of their business.
