Os Incômodos com a voz da Drag Queen

The rise to prominence of drag queen singer Pabllo Vittar in the Brazilian media coincides with the political polarization that favored a conservative agenda and the ascent of technopopulist leaders in Brazil. Much of the backlash and criticism directed at Pabllo Vittar on digital social networks focused on her “thin,” “unstable,” and “off-pitch” voice, highlighting an array of annoyances that appear to narrate the very conditions of LGBTQIAP+ subjects. This paper maps these annoyances through a selection of reaction videos from the largest Brazilian YouTube channel dedicated to evaluating vocal performances. In doing so, it argues that technical discussions about voices often obscure “gendered truths” that disregards deviations in bodies within musical contexts. Finally, the paper suggests that drag queens' vocals create fabulations of bodies that at times fracture the ideology of the “natural voice.”