In the new issue of African fashion magazine Arise, reporter Hannah Pool examines the idea that "all Africa ha[s] to offer the world was begging bowl." The article, titled "Good Will Hunting," starts off with a bang:

"When high profile celebrities get shown visiting disadvantaged areas in Africa and those images get beamed out to the rest of the world, I believe they almost do more damage than good," says Moky Makura, Nigerian-born, Johannesburg-based author, M-Net presenter and founder of the Africa our Africa blog. "We don't want to keep reinforcing the image of a helpless continent. We will only eradicate our problems when we build economies based on commerce, not charity. To do this, Africa needs to be seen as an investment destination or trading partner, not as a charity case.

Pool then delves into the conundrum facing many activists on the continent - if people are embracing the idea of "trade not aid" as a way to push forward development, who benefits from this "charitainment?" Pool elaborates:

The merging of charity and entertainment - or, as Time magazine called it, charitainment - has led to some damaging consequences. Celebrities (and their agents) have realised that being seen to care about Africa brings instant cool. About 25 years after Live Aid, A-list celebrities are forever falling out of the pages of magazines such as Hello! or OK!, tearfully waxing lyrical about how spending five minutes in an African orphanage changed their whole view on life. And thanks to Madonna and Angelina Jolie, some Western media appear to be under the impression that the best way to empty Africa's orphanages is not the eradication of poverty but mass adoption by wealthy pop stars.

"Whether it's Bono shilling for AIDS dollars, Angelina and Madonna toting their African offspring, Gwyneth [Paltrow] and David Bowie declaring they are African, or Matt Damon and George Clooney rallying for Darfur, it appears that a new generation of philanthropists have taken up the 'White Man's Burden'," says South African academic Zine Magubane on the pan-African blog Zeleza Post.

As soon as Pool mentioned Matt Damon, I immediately thought of this bit from Entourage:

"Gimme the fucking check Vince!"

At any rate, Pool drops the bomb that's been hovering over any discussion of aid and Western involvement in Africa. The idea of The White Man's Burden actually stems from a Rudyard Kipling poem of the same name. Scholars have long debated if 'White Man's Burden' is a love letter to imperialism or a satirical take-down - Kipling was an avid imperialist but was also a satirist, and his intentions with the piece aren't fully understood. However, the poem and the term have been propelled to the heights of infamy due to the application of the core concept around the globe. (Personally, I prefer Henry Labouchère's acid-tongued retort, The Brown Man's Burden - fascinating how both poems were written in 1899, but still resonate to this day).

One line from Labouchère - Let all your manifestoes/Reek with philanthropy - cuts to the quick of how a "trade not aid" movement developed on the African continent. All this "philanthropy" normally comes with strings and conditions, and it can actively undermine those looking for long term solutions to a problem. Pool, in fact, discusses the work of Dambisa Moyo, a Zambian economist whose book, Dead Aid, who argues that aid only breeds dependency:

"Aid has been, and continues to be, an unmitigated political, economic, and humanitarian disaster for most of the developing world," says Moyo. Rather than wanting to promote Africa as a place of business and opportunity, the West prefers to have Africa as its needy child. After all, imagine how scary a strong capitalist Africa would be. Moyo argues that aid keeps Africa politically and economically pliant, and that celebrities, with their passion for doing good rather than doing business, simply help maintain this status quo (whether they mean to or not).

She adds:

For some, 'glamour aid' is a non-topic. Africa needs money and fast. Getting people to focus on anything else - business opportunities, the arts or tourism, for example - is tantamount to rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. The fact is, celebrities raise billions of dollars for Africa, and they generate immeasurable amounts of press coverage for previously ignored causes. Who in the West had given Malawi a second thought until Madonna pitched up, bringing with her the international media and, undoubtedly, valuable donations? And wouldn't thousands of African children be without antiretroviral drugs if it wasn't for Keys and her Black Ball fundraisers in aid of Keep a Child Alive? [...]

"Africa as a continent is torn by many issues, which are beyond the people's control, including poverty, AIDS, and genocide, says [Paschorina Mortty, of events company The One Event which deals with foundations], "so the more celebrities who want to support this beautiful continent, the better. Celebrity support opens up media space and allows the issues to come to the attention of the public and policymakers. Rightly or wrongly, we live in a society where the media and public have a strong interest in celebrities." [...]

Does this interest translate into the public good, or does it just become another way to prolong a problem? In the case of Madonna, I'm not too sure. Her earlier interest stunk to high heaven with the white savior complex, and the controversy over David Banda's adoption added further fuel to the fire. After spending some more time in Malawi, she seems to have shifted out of the idea that one raises awareness by adoption and horrific images of suffering, and has shifted to promoting projects and infrastructure. The new school is a good start, and a step in the right direction. But what will Madonna do next? Will she continue learning and implementing projects that contribute to long term solutions? Or will she go back to the standard celebrity charity junket? (If her plea on the Huffington Post is any indication, we are heading back to "your one time donation" territory.)

As Pool says:

But if all celebrities do is talk, demand money and portray the same old Africa of war, famine, and poverty, should they really be congratulated? Shouldn't we challenging them to come with something new to say about Africa?

Madonna Launches Malawi School Construction [Reuters]
Raising Malawi: Will You Join Me? [Huffington Post]
Arise Magazine [Official Site]
The White Man's Burden [Wikipedia]

Related: The White Man's Burden [Modern History Sourcebook]
The Brown Man's Burden [Dan McDowell's History Projects]
Dead Aid [Amazon]

Related: Meet The Neo-Colonialists: Madonna And Vanity Fair [Racialicious]

Der Weg Des Geldes [YouTube via Adgabber]

Instead of spending the month saving, and giving out, candy and sweets, Jezebel, and our sister blogs in the Gawker Media Network (Deadspin, Gawker, io9, Gizmodo, Fleshbot, Lifehacker, Kotaku, and Jalopnik), will be raising money for education. You can check out the Gawker Media page here. Each blog will be picking 4 or 5 different projects that they want to highlight (although there are literally hundreds of important projects) and asking readers to please set aside a little of their hard earned cash for these kids.

We're doing it all through Donors Choose. Donors Choose is a website that links schools in need directly with charitable individuals like yourselves. It allows you to view the various projects and decide exactly where your money is going to go. Many of these schools lack funding for even the most basic things, including books, notebooks, pencils and paper. Some of them are looking for calculators or other techy gadgets. We have decided to focus on a few worthy projects that aim to promote self-confidence among young women through education. Our choices are:

Inspire Young Women In Science: Ms. C's classroom in NYC is looking for lab stools, so that their young girls can experience what it is like to be in an actual lab. The girls are currently learning science in an overcrowded classroom, and Ms. C hopes that through replicating the conditions of a science lab, her kids could get a better feel for what a career in science would be like. This high poverty school needs a total of $937.

Girls In Love With Books: Ms. W from Florida has started a book club for girls, but unfortunately, they don't have enough books. She's looking for funding to purchase three books for each girl. Her reading list includes awesome titles like Tuck Everlasting and Stargirl. They need a total of $486 to make this happen.

What Is Space Like From A Woman's Perspective?: Many girls are not encouraged to enter careers in science or math. And in inner-city Michigan, an amazing career seems even more out of reach. Ms. A would like to show her students that they can become astronauts, biologists, and pilots by providing them with books that tell the stories of real women who have done so. The total project cost is $546.

Interactive Notebooks For Female Algebra Students: This high-need school in North Carolina is looking for funding to help their female algebra students to pass a difficult end-of-course test to fulfill graduation requirements. Ms. A teaches a small group of girls year round and would like to provide them with colorful notebooks and pens to better organize their notes. She is asking for a total of $320.

Since this is a monthlong event, we're confident that our readers will rise to the occasion and help this batch of classrooms meet their goal. This is why we're asking for our readers to look through the projects on Donors Choose (they helpfully provide a search feature, if you want to narrow down your scope) and suggest any other worthy projects in the comments. We'll update you on the progress of all this as the month goes on.

Wheeler had to wait until her reign as Miss Virgina was over before she could shave her shoulder-length brown hair. It became clear to Wheeler relatively early on that she wouldn't be able to raise the amount required—she topped out at just over $30,000—but she says she wanted to shave regardless, to both show support for all the young children battling cancer and to challenge beauty ideals. "Society needs to take a second look at how we deem someone pretty," she said back in April. "Beauty is as beauty does."

To prove it, she had her mother shave her head bald on Monday in front of dozens of onlookers (and, apparently, her local news station). The former Penn State ice hockey player admits she cried a little the morning before, but she had resolved to take it all off. Although a fan has kindly donated a wig, she says she does not plan on wearing it, unless her new job as a reporter for Comcast SportsNet demands it. "If my hair is distracting as it grows out, I'm grateful for the opportunity to wear it," she said.

Miss Virginia Shaves Her Head To Fight Kid's Cancer [Strollerderby]
There She Is... And Hair, It Goes [Washington Post]

The "Walk For Women" ad above, seen on Sociological Images, promotes a charity event for the Women's Center Of Wake County, which began "as a grass roots movement to meet the needs of women re-entering the community from prison." The center has now shifted focus to address the issues of homelessness for women with children and single women. A worthy cause, and one that deserves attention and zippy marketing tricks — but what do high heels have to do with anything?

According to a site promoting the walk:

On June 6th, women (+ men!) will endure some high heel induced agony for a good cause. The Walk for Women will be a one-mile high heel strut through downtown to benefit the Women's Center of Wake County… Can't wait to which men decide to step up to the challenge and experience the pain we ladies get to each day. There will even be prizes awarded like "Best in Shoe" and "Best Man in Heels". It's a fun event for a wonderful cause, so get out and show your support to help make walking in some women's shoes a little less painful.

Sure, it's for charity, and it's just for "fun," but as Sociological Context's Gwen points out:

What type of awareness is it raising? Is walking around in high heels supposed to increase a person's understanding of some of the problems women face? What are bystanders supposed to get out of it?

Also associated with the Walk was a "Beauty Blitz" at a local salon, where people could get services and have a cocktail. Gwen notes, "So the event is this strange mixture of helping women by using the trappings of femininity (high heels, beauty care). And I just find it kind of odd."

"Walk for Women": High Heels as Activism [Sociological Images]

Image via Flickr.

• New research suggests that single mothers spend close to the same amount of time with their children as married mothers and the only determining factor in time difference has to do with socio-economic, not marital, status. • Joran van der Sloot, the Dutch man suspected of being involved in the disappearance of Natalee Holloway, first claimed and then denied that he had sold Holloway to a Venezuelan man in Aruba in 2005. • A poem that Paul McCartney wrote for the late comedian Spike Milligen sold for £6,000 at a recent auction. • Meanwhile, a document that may reveal the real Eleanor Rigby of the famous Beatles' song is going to auction on Thursday. • The recent online suicide of Abraham Biggs has brought some attention to the stigma against mental health treatment among black men and their high suicide rate. • A Russian investigator claims that the Georgians have deployed a group of female snipers from Ukraine and Latvia which some says recalls the mythical "white tights" of Chechen war lore. • The Moor Arabs of rural Mauritania view rotund women as desirable and often send girls to "fat farms" where they are force fed fattening foods to gain weight. • Want to bring your hamsters with you everywhere you go? Now you can with this smart-looking hamster vest! • The Ministry of Women's Affairs in the UK released a report that revealed that a quarter of the female population in Cambodia face domestic abuse and many Cambodians think it is acceptable for a husband to assault his wife. • The new schools minister in the UK says that she believes single-sex science lessons would be good for girls who may feel that boys hog the limelight. • Parents in Claremont, California are clashing over a 40-year-old tradition of having Claremont kindergartners dress in pilgrim and Native American costumes for Thanksgiving, which one mother calls "dehumanizing" to Native Americans. • More on Eri Yoshida, the first female — and youngest — professional baseball player in Japan: some critics claim that she is making fair competition between men and women in sports look easy and that her recruitment was purely for publicity. • Facial Yoga: a good way to ward off wrinkles or just a silly hoax that involves making goofy faces? • A trial of peer-led sex education in England found that it was not more effective at reducing teen abortions but that it was preferred over teacher-led sex education. • Meanwhile, anti-choice groups in England are allowed to give presentations in schools where they are winning converts to the anti-choice cause by showing students images of rare and graphic abortions of fetuses from later terms of pregnancy. • Santa Clara County — home to Silicon Valley — is the lowest ranked county in California for hiring women in leadership roles. • Nuskaal, an Afghan teacher who was burned by acid attacks on female schoolchildren and teachers earlier this month, wants the Afghan government to throw acid on her attackers and then hang them. •

The shift, explains US News & World Report, is due to women's "growing earning power, wealth, and financial control," but then the magazine goes on to take it in kind of a weird direction. Says Pamela Fiori, editor-in-chief of Town & Country magazine,"As women become more sophisticated and get involved in the workplace and world, we start to realize, there's a lot more [out there] than baking cookies and making pies—all of which is well and good, but there's also a world out there that we can serve and make changes to."

This may come as a revelation to Fiori's well-heeled readers, but the thing is, most of us aren't not doing charity work because we're just sitting around baking. If charity's just an alternative pastime for non-working people, it doesn't really explain why the numbers are up so much. After all, haven't rich women always seen charity work as an essential part of their lives? As Fiori goes on to say, women "feel it's their obligation and responsibility" to give to charity, expressing a sense of "noblesse oblige" that sounds anything but new. She even goes on to liken women's interest in direct, collaborative giving to that of Eleanor Roosevelt and Brooke Astor.

While I'm sure it's true that more high-earning women are giving generously and unselfishly — the article then gives a list of suggested guidelines for women wishing to make the leap into philanthropy — the piece doesn't go on to address whether some of the increase in numbers comes at the expense of hands-on volunteer work. Especially given the cookie-bakers Fiori discusses; are these dames just giving away the big bucks instead of putting in time at the local soup kitchen? Cause if so, that's not an unmixed blessing. Certainly plenty of us volunteer in part because it's all we can afford; I'm sure plenty of the newly high-earning women donating so much have no time for volunteering; but what about this leisured demographic? Granted, this is purely speculative, but it does seem like an increase in giving could certainly precipitate a move away from actual engagement with people, animals or the environment, which would be a shame.

The guidelines for giving include "Seek Inspiration" - i.e., give to something that has a connection to your life; "Recognize the nonmonetary possibilities" — volunteering — "Do your research" so scams don't take advantage of you, and "Get Help" from groups in your community and tax advisers who can help you maximize your deductions. Altogether, this list feels like it could have been written sixty years ago; ironically, it seems like the paradigm shift is encouraging a distanced approach to "philanthropy" — itself a far loftier and more weighted term than the humble "charity" — and away from volunteering. None of this is to diminish the gains of the powerful women who are giving generously, but only to examine these findings critically. Cause money's great, but it's always just a beginning.

Women and Philanthropy: 4 Ways to Get Started [US News]

Related: Women Making A Difference [Today]

Earlier: Putting Our Money Where Our Mouths Are

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