“LISTEN TO THE ADVERTISING PEOPLE:” REPRESENTATIONS OF GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE IN NGO CAMPAIGNS

Abstract

In this research I examine representations of gender and gender-based violence in some of the most prominent campaigns produced by women’s non-governmental organizations in the past decade in Lebanon. I explore the publics these representations address and how they engage them, what gender meanings these representations construct in relation to dominant gender norms, and how the rhetoric they develop reflect on social change in the Lebanese and feminist public spheres. Lebanese NGOs operate in a public sphere colored with a prevalence of patriarchal and sectarian structures, neo-liberal market relations, and an industry reliant on donor funding. In turn, this context affects campaigns and representations of gender commissioned by these NGOs. It also affects the movement for gender rights in general in regard to questioning or challenging the existing hegemonic beliefs and systems of oppression. I posit my research in the literature on NGOization and examine six campaigns on GBV against women produced in the past two years by three Lebanese NGOs: KAFA, Abaad, and Arab Foundation for Freedoms and Equality. A visual and textual examination was conducted on these campaigns including their representations and variant elements, then analysed with a feminist rhetorical criticism. In addition, semi-structured interviews were conducted with communication officers in both NGOs and advertising agencies who produced these campaigns. Research findings indicate that, first, half of the campaigns address their public by striking relatability. However, their relatable address is based on variant assumptions including reproducing middle-class experiences which reflect the campaign authors’ own middle classness. The other half of campaigns engage their public through the dramatic appeal of sensationalized classist stereotypes of womanhood and difference. Comparatively, these campaigns are not meant to address women who had been subjected to GBV, but donors with a concern for reach. Third, all campaigns in this research utilize gender in a utilitarian manner. Themes like victimhood, agency, and gender order are manipulated to construct normative to more defiant meanings for the service of campaign aims. Finally, many of the rhetoric developed in these campaigns reflect a refeudalization of the feminist public sphere for the service of private interests in relation to donors. This translates into campaigns accountable to attainable goals rather than intersectional actionable social change. Whether utilizing relatability to portray what is or dramatic appeal to introduce what could be, these representations address many aspects of dominant norms and structures, while also reproducing other aspects.