Should Girlguiding have used this photo?

[FullFatCoke]

I saw a post from one of the Girlguiding Regions earlier on Instagram - Girlguiding London & South East region put up a post about applying for international trips, and posted a photo of presumably, a participant on a previous trip.

The Girlguiding participant, who is white, is in a photo with several black children sitting on and around her.

Girlguiding are pretty hot on getting photo permissions for members they feature online. They have strict guidelines to ensure that photos of children aren't used without parents permission.

I felt on seeing this that it shouldn't have been used - I doubt anyone knows the children's names, or that their familes know their photos are online. To me, it looks like a photo taken because the children make a cute accessory to the young woman in the photo. They're "African children" and we're not encouraged to see them further. There's no info on where the photo was taken or the context.

My immediate reaction was to email and ask that that they reconsider using similar photos in future, but I don't know if I'm being over the top in my reaction or not!

@Honeyroar

Don’t google then.

It’s rather silly to question something and refuse to google and read a little bit into it (2 minutes ?) but okay 😂

I'm not googling it because I think it's absolute bollocks! We have people of all backgrounds, religions and colours helping in our group. It's fantastic. To try and make it racist disgusts me actually.

@honeyroar

Something you haven’t googled or researched or no anything about “disgusts you actually”?

Right okay, gotcha

Know*

Have you actually taken into account the fact that I and my colleagues work with organisations abroad supporting street kids and orphanages? That I consequently have loads of similar pictures? (Of kids that I've got to know well). So you'd actually be calling me one of these "white saviours" and you're actually insulting me personally.. I'm not just someone sitting on a sofa with no idea of what I'm talking about.

It's all a bit Stacey Dooley.

It does look a bit voluntourism. Whilst there is overlap between voluntourism and white saviour I am using the former in particular here as it could apply to volunteers of any race or religion. The main concerns being that these short placements by unskilled young volunteers usually do more harm than good. Orphanage placements are disruptive for the kids who see a stream of volunteers who bond with them then leave, there are also concerns that it encourages some orphanages to present children as orphans for the western volunteers. Building projects meanwhile are often completed poorly and take jobs away from local labourers who would often have better skills. These type of programmes, the young people would be better fundraising and donating to projects that actual help locals build their skills etc.

Obviously, there is a difference from programmes that send skilled adults ie:teachers, doctors etc out to either provide missing services or to provide training.

‘White saviour’ is fucking insulting to the people who get off their arses and get their hands dirty in the crappiest situations around the world - sometime risking their own life and limb.

My sister worked for a charity that would step in when there were disasters, and although she didn’t have much good to say about the ‘Great and good’ (who seemed to be in it for the CBE) she had respect for the people who would roll to their sleeves and ship out when there was need, to the ladies who would knit blankets or even the people who would turn up at her office offering blood there and then for whatever disaster had just occurred.

LordProfFekkoThePenguinPhD my understanding of the 'white saviour' argument has always been that it applies to gap year students stopping by an orphanage for a few days to pose for photos and play with the kids or 16 year olds building walls to look good for their UCAS forms (taking work from a local). Or adults doing similar on holiday and banging on about when they volunteered in Africa. NOT to people who get stuck in during disasters, those who provide skills/materials that are in short supply etc. It is a particular type of posed volunteering that harms the local community not all volunteering.

Bloody hell, of all the things to be offended by

It was used with reference to that woman if the TV - I have no idea who she is - for comic relief or sports relief or something (I don’t really keep up with these things) and I have heard it about images people who aren’t gap year students, just ordinary people. It is still a slap in the face for someone trying to do something good (unless they are like some pop star or politicians wide who jets in wearing Armani, holds their nose as they are passed a scrubbed and detol-dipped toddler for a photo op, and are back of Air Force 1 for a slap up lunch on their way home/stop off in Dubai for a shopping trip).

Op did you get permission to post the photo?
If not not only are you doing exactly the same as the original photographer plus you could be infringing on copyright laws .