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Embodying feminism: Donor demands and bridgework in Cambodian nongovernmental organizations

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  • Mary‐Collier Wilks

Abstract

This article illustrates how nongovernmental organization (NGO) workers in developing countries are pressured to present themselves as ideal feminist subjects to international donors. Previous research has highlighted the potential of NGOs to promote and support feminist change, but also the ways in which the agendas of such organizations are shaped by the demands of donors in the global North. Extending the literature on embodiment to investigate NGOs, this article introduces a new aspect of donor demands on NGO work: embodying feminism. Drawing from 30 in‐depth interviews and ethnographic observation in NGOs in Cambodia, I analyze two processes. First, I show how foreign donors demand specific presentations of self from Khmer NGO staff. Second, I analyze the ways in which Khmer employees make sense of these expectations, which require them to change their interaction style, manage their emotions, and transform their esthetic to present themselves as “good feminists” to donors. Documenting an understudied aspect of NGO work, I demonstrate how the visions of feminism and development promoted by international donors make demands on the bodies of Khmer workers.

Suggested Citation

  • Mary‐Collier Wilks, 2022. "Embodying feminism: Donor demands and bridgework in Cambodian nongovernmental organizations," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(2), pages 575-590, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:gender:v:29:y:2022:i:2:p:575-590
    DOI: 10.1111/gwao.12783
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Kate Grosser & Lauren McCarthy, 2019. "Imagining new feminist futures: How feminist social movements contest the neoliberalization of feminism in an increasingly corporate‐dominated world," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(8), pages 1100-1116, August.
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