Almost a century ago, a dark and skinny girl of illegitimate birth dreamed about becoming an actress in her country’s capital, Buenos Aires. Her name was María Eva Duarte (later “Eva Perón”). Not only did Eva Perón realize this childhood dream by achieving nationwide fame as a successful actress in her early youth, she also dramatically turned into a major player on the world’s stage as the First Lady of Argentina. As Eva Perón rose from her humble origins to become “one of the most powerful women anywhere in the world” (Taylor 34), she was so well recognized that she had arguably constructed a unique brand image that generated various myths. Two myths surrounding Evita, though opposing in nature, focus on her femininity in relation to her society’s expectations of a female’s role. This essay centers Evita’s femininity in arguing that branding and soft power share a complementary relationship. The brand image is made possible by her soft power, which is enabled by her own particular “brand” of femininity, in turn strengthening her public image both domestically and globally.

   As the lyrics[1] of the emotion-triggering song “Don’t Cry For Me, Argentina” suggest, Evita’s soft power is closely linked to emotional appeal, a key component of the traditional view of femininity in countries including Argentina. Although the notion of first ladies, and women in general, does not tend to be closely associated with political influence across historical periods and cultural contexts (Taylor 11), Eva Perón’s case shows that femininity is not necessarily a drawback in one’s career even in a male-dominated world.

According to Professor Joseph S. Nye of Harvard Business School, leaders mainly demonstrate two types of power: “hard” and “soft”. This categorization may lead one to wonder if the two are contradictory or complementary. Eva Perón’s relationship with her husband validates the latter. Nye defines in his paper “The Benefits of Soft Power” that “soft power” is “the power to attract” that may be associated with “intangible assets” such as “attractive personality”, “culture”, and “moral authority”. These qualities are part of Argentina’s traditional view of the role of a woman as both “physical” and “spiritual” (Taylor 15): to care for her family and to support it through emotional means. While men should be “rational”, women are seen as “emotional” and “irrational” (Taylor 13). The un-institutionalized, spontaneous and spiritual leadership that Eva Perón exemplified, very much relatable to the pure charisma as defined by German sociologist Max Weber, complemented her husband Juan Perón’s “institutionalized” and “scientific” leadership as a male, a former military general[2], and the President of Argentina.

The feminine’s association with soft power was thus significant for Eva Perón to gain her soft power. How, then, did Eva Perón establish her soft power in Argentina and abroad, even among individuals who had never interacted with her personally? One possible answer is “brand image building”. Canadian author Naomi Klein, in her book No Logo, focuses on the role of marketing and brand image construction in North America. According to Klein’s perspective, branding is “expansive” in nature (36), and offers a platform to establish and widen the base of followers who identify with the brand. Although Eva Perón lived in a distinctly different social and political context in another time period, Klein’s discussion of brand construction as a means of expanding certain messages to a broader audience is relevant.

Through occasions including her “Rainbow Tour” in Europe, Eva Perón’s presence offered a refreshing and non-political image with which the masses could identify. Her tailored outfits that highlighted her physical femininity, for instance, contributed to Evita’s unique brand image. They provided an opportunity for more potential followers to be attracted by her soft power. Internationally, Evita embodied the new Argentina under Juan Perón’s political leadership and formed a memorable part of the nation’s image that was presented to the world. Domestically, Eva’s rise from her humble background as an illegitimate child from a middle-class family had become an aspirational lifestyle. Her accomplishments in life became (what we would consider, in a contemporary sense) “branded” as a motivating experience that the Argentinians would strive for. For the “descamisados” (Taylor 74) who, like Evita, had moved to Buenos Aires to pursue their dreams but initially suffered from humiliation, the Eva Perón brand had offered them legitimacy and pride. Evita’s domestic and international success therefore demonstrates that the Eva Perón brand was instrumental in establishing her soft power.

     Within the Argentinian society at large, myths that center Eva Perón’s femininity could be considered as a primary source of her brand image. In her ethnography Eva Perón, The Myths of a Woman, J.M. Taylor mentions two prominent myths, and subsequently paints two Eva Perón brand images: “the Lady of Hope” supported by the Peronists and the woman of “The Black Myth” promoted by the Anti-Peronists (Taylor 1 and 72). Noticeably, both myths focus on exactly the same aspects of Eva Perón’s roles as a woman, wife of the President, and mother of a country (Taylor 86), but each either exalts or castigates Eva Perón to two extremes.

    Simultaneously as the Peronists perceived Evita as “The Lady of Hope” and applauded her soft power, the Anti-Peronists believed in the lady of the “Black Myth” who only achieved her hard power through coercion. Basing their arguments in a logic that is different from that of the Perionists, the Anti-Peronists constructed a radically different brand image of Eva Perón as a woman with power. Whilst the Lady of Hope complements her husband’s institutionalized power with the love of the “descamisados” (Taylor 74) through soft power, “Eva the Bad” of the Black Myth exploits such power to satiate her own petty desires for social status and greater power, coercing her followers with her hard power instead of attracting them with soft power. In the Anti-Peronists’ eyes, Evita superficially appeared as if she altruistically aimed to improve the welfare of the country and to enhance her husband’s brand image by being a (perhaps too) politically-involved First Lady, but her true motive was to achieve and maintain her level of power. The Anti-Peronists further criticized Eva Perón’s lack of feminine dependency on her husband, creating a negative brand image that Eva Perón lacked the normative femininity that should be cherished in society at large. This counterclaim highlights the centrality of the role played by Eva Perón’s femininity and its potential benefit to her political career. It further demonstrates that Evita’s femininity could be utilized to brand her differently, and underscores the interconnections between power and branding.  

Back in Eva Perón’s early days, among the patriarchal Argentinian society, who would have envisioned that the drama in this young future actress’ life would significantly extend beyond the physical stage that she used to dream of with her wild, girlish eagerness? Evita demonstrated that branding and soft power could complement each other either to serve society’s welfare at large or to fulfill her self-interest, depending on the perspective. By building her brand image as an intangible asset, Eva Perón had established and consolidated her soft power. Meanwhile, only through her soft power could she leave such a long-lasting image and a collection of myths among the living today. As both Eva Perón’s brand-building and soft power are closely tied with her characteristics as a female, her successful branding and charismatic soft power show that femininity does not necessarily have to be a drawback in one’s career, but could be a positive asset in obtaining one’s soft power and constructing a positive brand image.

Works Cited

AZLyrics.com. “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina Lyrics”. <http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/madonna/dontcryformeargentina.html>. Web.

Klein, Naomi. “No Logo”. Picador. New York. 2009.

Nye, Joseph S. “The Benefits of Soft Power”.  Harvard Business School.  <http://hbswk.hbs.edu/archive/4290.html>. 2nd August, 2004. Web.

Taylor, J.M. “Eva Perón: The Myths of a Woman”. The University of Chicago Press. Chicago. 1979.

Weber, Max 1978 Volume III, Chapter XIV “Charisma and Its Transformation.” In Economy and Society: An Outline of Interpretive Sociology. UC Press.