Damsels in distress: gender and negative place branding

Durrani, S

Damsels in distress: gender and negative place branding

Durrani, S

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Publisher:: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Place Branding and Public Diplomacy, 2022, 18, (4), pp. 357-371
Issue Date:: 2022-12-01

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Durrani, S https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8740-8388
dc.date.accessioned	2023-01-09T01:41:22Z
dc.date.available	2023-01-09T01:41:22Z
dc.date.issued	2022-12-01
dc.identifier.citation	Place Branding and Public Diplomacy, 2022, 18, (4), pp. 357-371
dc.identifier.issn	1751-8040
dc.identifier.issn	1751-8059
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/164784
dc.description.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.
dc.language	en
dc.publisher	Springer Science and Business Media LLC
dc.relation.ispartof	Place Branding and Public Diplomacy
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1057/s41254-022-00260-8
dc.rights	info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
dc.subject	1505 Marketing, 1606 Political Science, 2001 Communication and Media Studies
dc.title	Damsels in distress: gender and negative place branding
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	18
utslib.for	1505 Marketing
utslib.for	1606 Political Science
utslib.for	2001 Communication and Media Studies
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences/Public Communication Program
utslib.copyright.status	open_access	*
dc.date.updated	2023-01-09T01:41:20Z
pubs.issue	4
pubs.publication-status	Published
pubs.volume	18
utslib.citation.issue	4

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.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/164784