Name: GUILHERME PINHEIRO MARIA
Publication date: 09/04/2026
Examining board:
Name |
Role |
|---|---|
| AMANDA SOARES ZAMBELLI FERRETTI | Examinador Externo |
| ELOISIO MOULIN DE SOUZA | Presidente |
| FERNANDO RESSETTI PINHEIRO MARQUES VIANNA | Examinador Externo |
| JULIANA CRISTINA TEIXEIRA | Examinador Interno |
| LETICIA DIAS FANTINEL | Examinador Interno |
Summary: This thesis examined neoliberal governmentality and the constitution of the
subjectivities of Brazilian digital finfluencers, analyzing the subject as an entrepreneur
of the self and an influencer of others. The general objective was to critically
understand how the discursive practice of neoliberal governmentality constituted the
subjectivities of finfluencers, specifically seeking to identify and analyze the discourses
that operated in this process, to understand how these subjects reproduced such
discourses in their practices, to verify the existence of practices of freedom, and to
problematize the role of the finfluencer as an entrepreneur of the self and an influencer
of others. The study adopted a qualitative approach with a critical orientation, grounded
in the theoretical framework of Michel Foucault, especially in concepts such as
subjectivity, discourse, governmentality, and practices of freedom. The construction of
the research corpus involved in-depth interviews with 26 Brazilian finfluencers, as well
as the analysis of audiovisual and textual content published in digital media and social
media platforms. Data were processed through thematic categorization and analyzed
using Foucauldian discourse analysis. The results showed that the identified neoliberal
discourses were associated with entrepreneurship of the self, meritocracy, individual
responsibility, self-management, continuous performance, and authenticity, and
operated as regimes of truth that shaped the discursive practices of finfluencers,
intensified by the algorithmic logic of digital platforms, which established a permanent
regime of visibility, engagement, and innovation. It was found that these subjects
incorporated such discourses into their own lives and reproduced them within their
digital communities, disseminating a model of self-governed subjectivation centered
on the individual pursuit of financial stability and upward mobility, thus mediating
neoliberal governmentality. It was also observed that this mediation occurred through
narrative strategies based on stories of overcoming, discipline, and sacrifice, as well
as through the mobilization of moral values such as authenticity, simplicity,
transparency, and humility, converted into competitive differentials in the finfluence
market. Furthermore, affective communication, controlled exposure of intimacy, and
the discursive distancing from practices associated with financial risk reinforced
emotional bonds with followers, contributing to the moralization of success and the individualization of responsibility for failure. Finally, the existence of practices of freedom was verified, although localized, fragmented, and limited by neoliberal and
algorithmic rationality, manifested in reflective and critical movements that
problematized ostentation, sensationalism, and promises of rapid enrichment. It was
concluded that finfluencers simultaneously occupied the position of producers and
products of neoliberal governmentality, constituting themselves as entrepreneurs of
the self and influencers of others. Their subjectivities approximated the entrepreneurial
form, evidenced by the adoption of managerial vocabulary, the strategic organization
of communication, the management of public image, the conversion of moral values
into economic assets, and the orientation of their trajectories toward the creation and
expansion of their own businesses. Thus, it became evident that, in the field of
finfluence, entrepreneurial and algorithmic logic constituted not only work but the very
existence of finfluencers.
