Portraying the Political:National Geographic's 1985 Afghan Girl and a US Alibi for Aid

Abstract

Post-9/11, communication scholars have published a number of articles invested in the relationship between US representations of Afghan women and imperial policy—a genre I dub the Afghan Alibi. I highlight this literature as a catalyst to consider an older image that functioned in much the same way. A critical consideration of National Geographic's 1985 Afghan Girl provides an opportunity to consider the ways in which representations and public policy get fused together to rhetorically coordinate and organize meanings. After considering the significance of the image's cultural location, and the role National Geographic played in US public policy, I take up six visual signifiers—veil, childhood, eyes, anonymity, refugee, and femininity—that mark this image as victim. I conclude by arguing that the 1985 Afghan Girl offered viewers the opportunity to rhetorically constitute public support for President Reagan's initiative to arm Afghanistan.

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