The pop diva of Brazilian politics: Erika Hilton and the counterflows of difference

Abstract

In the same country that holds the world’s highest number of trans deaths, Erika Hilton is the first Black travesti woman elected as a federal deputy. This article examines how the image of a pop diva operates in Erika Hilton’s political practice as both a discursive and political strategy. Drawing on the concept of regionalities as counterflows of difference, we adopt a discursive perspective to analyze the construction of the ethos of a pop diva in Brazilian politics, based on audiovisual materials in which Erika Hilton appears as an interviewee. Our findings indicate that Hilton disrupts a canonical mode of political practice marked by representations distant from everyday people. Through glamorization, she fosters proximity with audiences and redefines political space. Furthermore, her body – a persistent target of violence in society and within parliament – produces identification and representativeness.