Influenciadores digitais e branquitude: um estudo de caso sobre as motivações e formas de abordar a branquitude nas plataformas digitais

Abstract

This dissertation supports the argument that white influencers are privileged in the digital environment, as they achieve greater engagement on social networks and obtain more professional projects and recognition than non-white influencers. However, despite the relevance of the subject, it was found that studies on whiteness in digital media are still incipient. Thus, the present research was justified by the possibility of contributing to the formation of a body of studies on the subject of whiteness in organizations, especially whiteness in Brazil and in digital organizations, in the areas of Administration and Organizational Studies. In addition, the possibility of highlighting factors that could motivate other white people to use their reach to touch on issues relevant to society, such as whiteness and racism, and the possibility of the researcher’s intellectual deepening, as a white woman studying whiteness, served as a justification for the studies. In this context, the general objective of the research was to analyze the possible tensions between the motivations of the digital influencer Maria Bopp to create her character Blogueirinha do Fim do Mundo and the reactions of her followers to this type of approach. The specific objectives sought to identify Maria Bopp’s possible motivations for creating that character, to analyze the ways in which the influencer approaches racial and white themes, as well as to analyze the characteristics of her followers’ comments on Instagram. To find out how this occurs, a case study was developed, with a mixed or pragmatic approach, and the data were analyzed using the content analysis method. At the end of the research, it was found that it is not possible to state that the videos of Blogueirinha do Fim do Mundo provide some concrete change in the racial structure or in the white privileges addressed by the literature. On the contrary, the data showed that the content of the aforementioned videos maintains white hegemony and the privileges of whiteness.