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Damsels in distress: gender and negative place branding

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  • Sameera Durrani

    (University of Technology Sydney)

Abstract

This article provides a historical perspective on how institutionalized articulations of gender in visual news narratives may contribute towards the erosion of a country’s soft power potential. It analyses thirty years of photographic coverage given by an elite western publication, Time magazine to women from two countries with problematic place brands: Iran and Pakistan. This study documents how iterative longitudinal patterns of visual grammar contribute towards the layered marginalization of women within narratives. Women are much less visible in terms of image frequency, with selective value placed on certain kinds of female subjects across the decades, choices often shaped by stereotypes as well as foreign policy preferences. For Iranian women, the visual discourse empowers women resisting conservative forces, and valorizes trailblazers redefining the public space. For Pakistani women, a narrative showcasing political activism devolves into one highlighting victims/activists in the context of gender-based discrimination. The choice of ‘valuable’ bodies in both instances, expressed with the help of quantifiable semiotic trends in camera angles, shot and gaze, is imbued with indirect judgment of the political leadership and cultural and socio-political systems of the countries themselves. In both cases, the overall narrative is of a system pre-disposed to oppress women, thus negatively juxtaposing the ‘people’ aspect of the Anholt Nation Brand Index against the elements of governance, culture and heritage, to the overall detriment of both place brands.

Suggested Citation

  • Sameera Durrani, 2022. "Damsels in distress: gender and negative place branding," Place Branding and Public Diplomacy, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 18(4), pages 357-371, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:pbapdi:v:18:y:2022:i:4:d:10.1057_s41254-022-00260-8
    DOI: 10.1057/s41254-022-00260-8
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Simon Anholt, 2011. "Beyond the Nation Brand: The Role of Image and Identity in International Relations," Chapters, in: Andy Pike (ed.), Brands and Branding Geographies, chapter 17, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    2. Katarzyna Jezierska & Ann Towns, 2018. "Taming feminism? The place of gender equality in the ‘Progressive Sweden’ brand," Place Branding and Public Diplomacy, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 14(1), pages 55-63, February.
    3. Yousaf, Salman & Xiucheng, Fan, 2020. "Humanizing stigmatized places: Inter-group contact and attitude change toward Pakistan and Iran in the ‘Humans of New York’ Facebook space," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 116(C), pages 666-679.
    4. Anholt, Simon, 2005. "Anholt Nation Brands Index: How Does the World See America?," Journal of Advertising Research, Cambridge University Press, vol. 45(3), pages 296-304, September.
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    Cited by:

    1. Sameera Durrani, 2023. "What happens when a country bleeds soft power? Conceptualising ‘Negative Watch’: towards an epistemology for negative and adversarial place branding," Place Branding and Public Diplomacy, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 19(4), pages 456-475, December.

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