THE RHETORIC BEHIND THE GIRL EFFECT 1 The Rhetoric Behind the Girl Effect: The Racial ‘Other’ Dilemma in Female Empowerment Sport for Development and Peace Initiatives Su Park Stanford University Author Note Su Park, Bachelor of Science, Stanford University Su Park is currently a Bachelor of Science student majoring in Biology at Stanford University Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Su Park, PWR2CW: Sport, Policy and Development, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 92130. Contact: [email protected]
Transcript
THE RHETORIC BEHIND THE GIRL EFFECT 1
The Rhetoric Behind the Girl Effect:
The Racial ‘Other’ Dilemma in Female Empowerment Sport for Development and Peace Initiatives
Su Park
Stanford University
Author Note
Su Park, Bachelor of Science, Stanford University
Su Park is currently a Bachelor of Science student majoring in Biology at Stanford
University
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Su Park, PWR2CW: Sport,
Policy and Development, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 92130.
Over the past decade, the utilization of sport as a platform to address humanitarian concerns
has gained recognition under the title, ‘Sport for Development and Peace (SDP)’ (Gilbert, &
Bennett, 2012). Of the many humanitarian concerns outlined by the United Nations (UN)
Millennium Goals1, the issue of female empowerment has maintained a large presence within the
SDP movement (Darnell, & Black, 2011). While sport’s image as a “simple, low-cost and effective
means of achieving developmental goals” (Sport for Peace and Development International Working
Group, 2007, p. 3) has propelled the creation of many female-empowerment-related SDP programs,
many scholars emphasize the need to critically evaluate the efficacy of these initiatives (Gilbert, and
Bennett, 2012). One prominent criticism, emphasized by Simon Darnell (2007), concerns the
propagation of a concept known as the racial ‘Other’2. Through the course of his research, Darnell
(2007) interviewed volunteers in the SDP sector and found that “the White subject position is
constructed ... as generous and benevolent and in opposition to racial Others, [which itself is]
recognized as ... grateful” (p. 570). While Darnell’s criticism applies to SDP as a whole, this paper
will focus on how the idea of a racial ‘Other’ may negatively impact female-empowerment-oriented
SDP initiatives in particular.
Of the many female empowerment initiatives, the Girl Effect campaign – championed by the
Nike Foundation in 2005 (Hayhurst, 2013) – has had considerable impact within the SDP
community as a ‘sport plus’3 campaign – thus, making it an ideal candidate to use as a case study
for this paper. Over the course of a few years, this campaign has grown into a global initiative that
1 The United Nations eight Millennium Developmental Goals are: “1) eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, 2) achieve universal primary education, 3) promote gender equality and empower women, 4) reduce child mortality, 5) improve maternal health, 6) combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases, 7) ensure environmental sustainability, and 8) global partnership for development” (“Millennium Goals,” n.d.) 2 Explicitly, Darnell (2007) states that there is a “need for continual critical attention to the (re)production of race-based notions of superiority within development through sport programmes” (p. 574) 3 ‘Sport plus’ initiatives use sport’s popularity to attract attention for developmental programs that tackles issues such as HIV and AIDS, education, or female ‘empowerment’ (Coalter, 2010, p. 298). In the case of the Girl Effect, Nike’s brand name is used to raise substantial attention for the issue of female empowerment and gender-equality for girls in the global South.
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represents girls as agents of change (Shain, 2013; Bent, 2013), who can bring about “unparalleled
social and economic change to their families, communities and countries” (“What is the Girl
Effect?,” n.d.). With its growth into a global initiative, the Girl Effect campaign has served as a
framework for female empowerment SDP programs targeted for the global South4 (Hayhurst,
2011). For this paper, I plan on closely examining the original Girl Effect video, which was released
in 2008 (girleffect, 2008). In particular, I will explore whether the racial ‘Other’ ideologies that
Darnell cautioned against are contained within the rhetoric of this viral video and if so, consider any
potential downstream effects this campaign video’s rhetoric may have on female empowerment
SDP programs that have been influenced by the global Girl Effect initiative.
In this paper, I make three central moves that evaluate the concept of the racial ‘Other’
within a female empowerment SDP context. First, I contend that the global North’s4 perception of
the global South as the racial ‘Other’ negatively affects the progress of female empowerment by de-
contextualizing the girls in the global South from their specific cultural, political, and economical
structures. Second, I argue that the original Girl Effect video perpetuates racial ‘Other’ ideologies
and creates a problematic framework for female empowerment SDP programs targeting girls of the
global South. Third, I find that current female empowerment SDP initiatives based in the global
North have irresponsibly adopted the ethos/framework of the Girl Effect campaign and by doing so,
hinder rather than improve the process of female empowerment in the global South. Taken together,
these moves echo Darnell’s concerns – with representing the global South as the racial ‘Other’ – but
within the context of female empowerment SDP initiatives and highlights the need for SDP
4 The North-South divide is one based on socio-economic and political factors. The global South consists of Second-World and Third-World countries in Africa, Latin America, and developing parts of Asia including the Middle East. The global North consists of First-World countries in the Northern Americas, developed parts of Europe and East Asia (Darnell, 2007, p. 560).
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professionals based in the global North to more vigilantly separate nuances of the racial ‘Other’
from their programs or campaigns.
SDP and SGD Terminology
Gilbert and Bennett (2012), two scholars heavily involved in the field of SDP research,
provide a characterization of the SDP movement:
“The utilisation of sport from a human rights perspective, including play, games and leisure activities which best support the peace processes and contribute towards human development and capacity building after cessation of forms of hostility, conflict, war, famine, terrorism, poverty, natural disaster and combating HIV/AIDS. This can be used as an effective tool in human empowerment and in a culturally sustainable manner by supporting the mental and physical healing processes in rebuilding the human spirit” (p. 8).
Within this characterization, we can see that the topic of female empowerment loosely falls into the
“forms of hostility” and “human empowerment” categories. Thus, from this point forward I will
identify Sport, Gender, and Development (SGD ) to be a sub-category of the overarching SDP
movement and use the term, SGD, when referencing SDP initiatives that directly relate to issues of
female empowerment and/or gender-equality5.
Conceptualizing Empowerment
To begin assessing how effective SGD programs are at promoting female empowerment, we
must examine: i) the concept of ‘empowerment’ and ii) the steps that facilitate female
empowerment. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the verb ‘to empower’ to mean: “to give
official authority or legal power to” (n.d.). However, to gain a more nuanced understanding of
empowerment and the process of power exchange, we must take this definition one step further.
Parpart, Rai, and Staudt (2003) emphasize that empowerment is more about the process of
5 A number of scholars assert that sport can act as a catalyst for women’s development by promoting gender equality and respect for women while simultaneously challenging gender norms and teaching self-esteem and leadership skills (Brady, 2005; Saavedra, 2009). However, Hayhurst (2013), a sport, gender, health and international development scholar, maintains that the efficacy of SGD programs to facilitate female empowerment have yet to be deterministically proven.
THE RHETORIC BEHIND THE GIRL EFFECT 5
enhancing an individual’s ability to properly exercise his or her power and less about the transfer of
power from one entity to another. This subtlety clearly differentiates between the simple possession
of power and the willful implementation of power by an individual – the individual is no longer a
passive object of choices made on his or her behalf but rather, a person able to make his or her own
decisions (Bartlett, 2004). Keeping this in mind, throughout the rest of my paper, I plan on using a
more nuanced definition of ‘empowerment’ – the process of an individual acquiring the ability to
exert his or her power and enact a desired outcome. This definition carries with it the implicit
promise of change through this empowered individual (Parpart, Rai, & Staudt, 2003). It is important
to note here that the enactment of change through the implementation of power can only occur
successfully if the institutional structures in place are receptive to change – thus, under this
definition, empowerment can be seen as a process that cannot transcend existing power relations
(Parpart, Rai, & Staudt, 2003).
Now, when we apply this general definition of empowerment to female empowerment in
particular, we find that female empowerment is a two-pronged process (Alsop 2006; Narayan
2005). The first prong can be thought of an expansion of agency6 (Parpart, Rai, & Staudt, 2003;
Rowlands, 1997). Rowland (1997) asserts that the core of the empowerment process involves
increasing the self-confidence and self-esteem of the individual of interest so that the individual
gains “a sense of agency and of ‘self’ in a wider context, and a sense of dignidad (being worthy of
having a right to respect from others)” (p. 129-130). The second prong on the other hand focuses
on the institutional environment that may be conducive (or not conducive) to an individual’s ability
to exert agency successfully (Ibrahim & Alkire, 2007). Applied to the case of female empowerment,
6 Agency is defined as “the ability to act of behalf of what you value and have reason to value” (Malhotra, 2003, p. 3)
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this second prong implies that if existing institutional structures7 are not conducive to concepts of
gender equality, then, even if the first prong is met, a woman’s capability to ameliorate this
structural inequality is greatly impeded (Phillips, 1991). Thus, this two-pronged approach
emphasizes that SGD initiatives tackling the issue of female empowerment for girl in the
developing world must not only focus on enhancing the agency of girls but also, situate the girls’
agencies within the institutional structures in which they operate (Parpart, Rai, & Staudt, 2003).
The Racial ‘Other’ Dilemma in Relation to Female Empowerment
As mentioned in the introduction, Darnell cites the issue of social dominance and the
perpetuation of racial ‘Other’ ideologies as ethical dilemmas within the SDP movement (Darnell,
2012; Darnell, 2007). Darnell (2012) asserts that racial hierarchies that initially gave rise to the
dichotomous relationship between the white experts of the global North and the colored ‘Others’ of
the global South have existed since the original colonial projects. However, while this may be true,
Darnell (2007) emphasizes that this long-held dichotomy remains sustained today through
international development initiatives, of which SDP is one. Darnell (2010b) argues that by
supporting the travel of northern residents to the global South (Epprecht, 2004; Tiessen, 2008),
SDP organizations and programs implicitly establish a unidirectional flow of benevolent aid, goods
and expertise from the northern, ‘First World’ to the southern, ‘Third World’ (Darnell, 2007). In
turn, the direction of this flow unintentionally constructs a “dichotomy between the empowered
and the disempowered, the vocal and the silent, the ‘knowers’ and the known” (Darnell, 2007, p.
561). In this instance the global North is depicted as generous, benevolent, rational and in stark
opposition to the racial ‘Others’ of the global South, who are constructed as “de-politicized, de-
7 Institutional structures include: “broad political and economic structures, cultural assumptions and discourse, notions of human rights, laws and practices in which women and men seek to survive and even flourish in marginalized communities around the world” (Parpart, Rai, and Staudt, 2003, p. 1969).
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historicized ‘natives’ …seemingly grateful for material means that provide respite from their
marginalization” (Darnell, 2007, p. 570).
While this dichotomy is troubling in it of itself, this paper will mainly focus on the global
North’s tendency to perceive the individuals in the global South as de-politicized, de-historicized
‘natives,’ who are representative of a single ‘Other’ entity. This process of de-contextualization is
key to understanding the first claim of this paper: the representation of girls in the global South as
the racial ‘Other’ negatively impacts the progress of their female empowerment. Referring back to
the two-pronged concept of female empowerment, we see that the second prong requires an
understanding of the institutional environment that may impede an individual’s agency. Since
understanding an individual’s context is essential to effectively empowering her, we can
immediately see the dilemma the racial ‘Other’ ideology poses. The global North’s perception of
the global South as a single ‘Other’ entity results in the individuals of the global South becoming
de-contextualized in the eyes of the global North. That is to say, the global North fails to
differentiate between the institutional structures that affect an individual from Nigeria from those
that affect an individual from Uganda, or Vietnam, or any other nation within the global South. As
stated previously, by failing to seriously consider the institutional framework within which an
individual and group agency can develop, the process of empowerment for that particular individual
or group is greatly hindered. Thus, it becomes essential that this ethical dilemma of the racial
‘Other’ be resolved if SGD initiatives in the global South are to be successful.
The Girl Effect Initiative
Rhetoric of The Girl Effect Video
I would like to preface my rhetorical analysis of the Girl Effect video by stating that I am
not an expert in the field of SDP or female empowerment; moreover, I have no first-hand
experience as a volunteer or worker in any SDP programs. However, I am in the privileged position,
THE RHETORIC BEHIND THE GIRL EFFECT 8
as a female living in the global North, to provide objective distanced critique of current SDP
practices in order to improve future programs. Thus, as a primary audience member of the Nike
Foundation’s Girl Effect campaign, I plan on using this section to critique the Girl Effect publicity
rhetoric as it is directed back to the global North. This leads into the second move of this paper: the
Girl Effect video hinders the process of female empowerment for girls in the global South by
reinforcing the global North’s preconceived perceptions of the global South as the racial ‘Other.’
Over the past six years, this original video, along with subsequent videos, has distributed Nike’s
girlpower rhetoric to a global audience and become the “buzz of mass, grassroots activism, and
infotainment media alike” (Wright, 2013, p. 170). Given its widespread distribution and popularity
within the SGD sector, evaluating the rhetoric of this original video is critical to preventing future
SGD professionals from incorporating problematic Girl Effect ethos into the foundations of their
programs.
Now that I have established the importance of analyzing the rhetoric in The Girl Effect, let
us direct our attention to Figure 1. As Shain (2013) mentions in her analysis of this video, the
absence of images could signify an intention to avoid the perpetuation of the racialized stereotypes
commonly associated with girls of the global South. Shain (2013) and other scholars also note,
however, that by inviting the viewer to ‘imagine a girl in poverty,’ to ‘go ahead’ and really ‘imagine
her,’ the video invites the viewers to pull from their own pre-existing racialized stereotypes to
construct the dark-skinned girl living in poverty (Bent, 2013) – thus, indicating a tendency for the
global North to perceive the global South as the poor racial ‘Other’ needing saving8. Furthermore,
by placing this sequence of stills near the beginning of the video, Nike appears to be implicitly
encouraging the viewer to de-contextualize the girls of the global South and view them as a single
8 Wright (2013) also references this notion of the racial ‘Other’ in her dissertation and argues, “Nike constructs girls in low-income nations as ‘savable strangers’” (p. 177).
THE RHETORIC BEHIND THE GIRL EFFECT 9
‘Other’ entity rather than unique individuals. I assert that encouraging this attitude primes the
viewer for the middle sequence of stills, which focuses on providing one panacea solution to
empower all girls in the global South.
The middle sequence begins by perpetuating the dichotomous relationship between the
global North and South – where the benevolent global North is invited to ‘fix’ and provide aid for
the poverty-stricken global South (0:48). Following this, a string of words: GIRLS SCHOOL COW
DOLLARS BUSINESS CLEAN H20 SOCIAL CHANGE STRONGER ECONOMY pop up in
quick succession, which Shain (2013) argues, “highlights the significant potential of microfinance”
(p. 7). However, what I find troubling is that the video presents this one simplistic solution for all
girls in the global South without prefacing it with specific institutional barriers that may be hindering
the empowerment of different girls in different parts of the global South. This persuades the viewer
to be no longer be interested in the different obstacles affecting these girls but rather, to attach the
same vague hurdles – early pregnancy, hunger and HIV – to all these girls.
Finally, as if to explicitly remind the viewer that the girls of the global South are
indistinguishable from one another, the ending sequence of the video represents the 600 million girls
Figure 1. Sequence of stills from 0:33-0:46 of The Girl Effect video (girleffect, 2008)
THE RHETORIC BEHIND THE GIRL EFFECT 10
of the global South as 600 million replicated black dots (Figure 2). I see this visual representation to
be problematic in two ways. First, the stark contrast of the black dots against a white backdrop
highlights the stark dichotomy that exists between the racial ‘Others’ of the global South and the
missionaries of the global North. Moreover, the use of black and white subliminally reminds the
First-World viewer of the West’s past colonial relationship with Africa, which further separates the
North from the South. Second, as Figure 2 illustrates, the first black dot continues to replicate until
all the dots meld into a single black background. This reflects how the global North perceives
members of the global South, not as individuals but rather, as a single ‘Other’ entity. I contend that
Nike could have easily complicated this narrative trope by substituting these dots with different
shapes, colors, and/or spatial positioning. However, Nike chose to use this black and white
representation and I ask, “why?” Perhaps this represents an instance of designer oversight? Perhaps
Nike intentionally chose this trope believing that allusions to Africa would increase donations?
Whatever the reason, by perpetuating this racial ‘Other’ ideology, The Girl Effect video encourages
the viewers in the global North to figuratively remove these girls from their specific environmental
context.
Implications of the Girl Effect Ethos for SGD Initiatives
My third, and final, claim asserts that current female empowerment SDP initiatives have
irresponsibly adopted the ethos of the Girl Effect campaign, and thus may not be effectively
Figure 2. Sequence of stills from 1:56-2:00 of The Girl Effect video (girleffect, 2008)
THE RHETORIC BEHIND THE GIRL EFFECT 11
empowering girls of the global South. A number of scholars mention the far-reaching effects of the
Girl Effect campaign ethos on current SGD initiatives (Bent, 2013; Chawansky, 2011; Hayhurst,
2013; Shain, 2013). One such example is the martial arts SGD program in Uganda (Hayhurst,
2013).
In her paper, Hayhurst (2013) states that the goal of this particular program was to “tackle
the marginalization of girls in Uganda through karate and taekwondo in order to advance their
health status and education levels, foster self-respect and improve gender relations in the
communities in which they live” (p. 4). Hayhurst (2013) also notes that this initiative was funded by
International Non-Governmental Organizations headquartered in the global North and was heavily
influenced by the Girl Effect ethos. Through extensive interviews, Hayhurst (2013) found that the
program effectively improved the self-esteem and confidence of these girls with the ‘can-do’ and
‘girls as representative agents of change’ Girl Effect model – thus, illustrating a focus on the first
prong of the female empowerment process. However, she found that the program failed to take into
account the specific institutional factors hindering the process of female empowerment for these
girls in Uganda (Hayhurst, 2013). Hayhurst (2013) argues that encouraging girls to become “self-
reliant agents of change is problematic when they are not supported structurally in their quest to
challenge gender norms and to shift gender relations” (p. 8). Building off of Hayhurst’s findings, I
contend that if future SGD programs continue to adopt the Girl Effect ethos without critically
evaluating the framework it presents, not only will the process of female empowerment be impeded
for girls in the global South but also, these programs may play a role in further marginalizing these
girls from their communities.
Conclusions and Further Study
Although the Girl Effect campaign may increase global interest in SGD initiatives targeting
the global South, I maintain that the current Girl Effect ethos perpetuates problematic racial ‘Other’
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ideologies. The propagation of racial ‘Other’ ideologies encourages the global North to de-
contextualize the girls of the global South, which negatively influences the process of female
empowerment. Furthermore, I find that when SGD programs adopt this problematic Girl Effect
framework, the programs tend to only focus on advancing the agency of these girls and ignore the
need to alter institutional barriers that may not be conducive for these girls to exercise their agency.
By not considering the unique institutional structures seriously, it is impossible for SGD programs
to effectively empower these girls.
The upcoming launch of the Girl Effect’s 2015 and Beyond campaign (“The Girl
Declaration,” n.d.), heightens the urgency to critically evaluate the publicity rhetoric of the Girl
Effect campaign. Many scholars have examined the rhetoric of past Girl Effect campaign materials;
however, to my knowledge, currently no literature exists on the Girl Effect’s 2015 and Beyond
campaign. If SDP professionals in the global North are to better assist the process of female
empowerment for girls in the global South, these professionals must familiarize themselves with the
scholarly SDP literature. I assert that if SDP professionals become acquainted with the literature,
they will be better prepared to comb through future SGD campaigns and programs to ensure that
nuances of racial ‘Other’ ideology are eliminated.
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