Hopkins, Susan (2017) UN celebrity ‘It’ girls as public relations-ised humanitarianism. International Communication Gazette. ISSN 1748-0485
Abstract
This article combines framing analysis and critical textual analysis in a qualitative investigation of the ways in which popular culture texts, in particular articles in Australian women’s magazines, frame transnational celebrity activism. Using three recent case studies of commercial representations of popular female celebrities – Nicole Kidman in Marie Claire (Australia), Angelina Jolie in Vogue (Australia) and Emma Watson in Cleo (Australia) – this study dissects framing devices to reveal the discursive tensions which lie beneath textual constructions of celebrity humanitarianism. Through a focus on United
Nations Women’s Goodwill Ambassadors, and their exemplary performances of popular humanitarianism, I argue that feminist celebrity activists may inadvertently contradict
the cause of global gender equality by operating within the limits of celebrity publicity images and discourses. Moreover, the deployment of celebrity women, who have built
their vast wealth and global influence through the commodification ofWestern ideals of beauty and femininity, betrays an approach to humanitarianism, which is grounded in the intersection of neocolonial global capitalism, liberal feminism and the ethics of competitive
individualism.
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| Item Type: | Article (Commonwealth Reporting Category C) |
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| Refereed: | Yes |
| Item Status: | Live Archive |
| Additional Information: | Published online 25 August 2017. Permanent restricted access to ArticleFirst version, in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher. |
| Faculty / Department / School: | Current - Open Access College |
| Date Deposited: | 28 Feb 2018 00:46 |
| Last Modified: | 25 Sep 2018 03:31 |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | feminism, framing, humanitarian celebrity, UN ambassadors, women’s magazines |
| Fields of Research : | 20 Language, Communication and Culture > 2002 Cultural Studies > 200205 Culture, Gender, Sexuality |
| URI: | http://eprints.usq.edu.au/id/eprint/33768 |
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