The Victim, the Angel and the Seducer: Challenging Ideas about who Evita Peron was in 'Power'

Roles of power in ‘western’ societies have traditionally been held by men. Through the spreading of ‘white-western’ ideals the concept of power has also become gendered. What happens then, if a woman occupies a position of power? Can women evade the boundaries placed on power and redefine the role of power as a leader of a nation? Our perceptions of masculine power make it difficult for a woman to overcome those barriers. When a woman succeeds in gaining a position of power, what does she become? Can a woman be ‘feminine’ and occupy a ‘masculine’ role? Evita Peron had great power in Argentina in the 1940’s -1950’s. She was married to the president, Juan Peron, at that time and became a figure loved by many people in Argentina. Some believe her husband’s success was due to the relationship she developed with the Argentineans. In exploring the way different people perceive her position of power, I will discuss ideas about the masculine-feminine power dilemma and the constraints that are imposed on Evita and on other woman who achieve positions of ‘power’.

Evita has been constructed as a victim by biographers sympathetic to her story. This *‘Evita signifier’ was victimized by her parents, whose actions caused her to be born an illegitimate child. Because of this disgrace, we are led to believe Evita lived a difficult childhood full of ridicule. At the age of fifteen, some sources say, Evita ‘ran away with’ a tango player (Biography: Evita - The Woman Behind the Myth, A&E Home Video). At this point in her life, those sympathetic of Evita’s situation, feel that she was enticed by a tango singer to believe he was her ‘hope’ to escape the ridicule of her childhood and to make her dreams of stardom come true. From that moment forward we can see a continuation of the insecure, victimized Evita who sought comfort in male figures that appeared to be offering her security and happiness. We could even venture to say that Evita was victimized by her husband who used Evita, her beauty, and love for the working people, to further his own political agenda.

This victimized Evita cannot be a woman of power. Victims are not leaders of people and ‘victim’ is gendered feminine. If power is masculine and victim is feminine, the victim Evita is incapable of ruling a nation. By drawing Evita as a victim we cannot acknowledge that she had any power. This ‘Evita signifier’ is weak, and powerless. She is affected by her surroundings. Her destiny is out of her control. Because of her desire for comfort and happiness, she is constantly victimized by those who see her need and weakness.

Evita has also been constructed as an angel. (Evita Peron Historical Research Foundation; www.evitaperon.org) She was the person who pulled herself up from the dregs of society and ‘made’ something of herself. She struggled to develop an identity and to be desirable. This Evita, because of her love and beauty, was the perfect choice for Peron, a personable but recently widowed man. This ‘Evita signifier’ was a help and an encouragement to Peron. She was the link between him and the people. She knew what is was like to be working class and she wanted to help make the lives of her (Peron’s) people better. This Evita was modest, and content to be at Peron’s side as his helpmate. She graciously declined credit and power, channeling the people’s love for her to Peron, their ‘true’ leader.

The angelic Evita cannot be a figure of power any more than the victimized one can. Historically, we know what happens to angels who defy ‘God’. They become devils. An angel does much work for the ‘leader’ and their credit is the gratitude of the people as well as the appreciation of the leader. An angel does not desire anything more than to please the people and the one in power. An angel follows the demands of one who is greater. The angelic ‘Evita signifier’ is happy to serve the people at the instruction of her husband, the leader. She is the link between the people and their leader; the one that helps both sides understand and communicate with each other. The angelic Evita is not political or powerful, she is a mediator.

The third Evita is constructed as the seductress. This Evita, at the age of fifteen, escaped her ‘rotten’ childhood by begging a tango singer to take her to the city. Evita is depicted as a girl so traumatized by her past that she seeks vengeance by abusing all males she encounters; using them to get what she desires in life. (Madonna’s ‘Evita’; 1996) This Evita was unfeeling and relentless. Eventually, Evita the seductress was able to become the mistress and finally the wife of a very powerful man. Through him, Evita was able to access a position of power unknown to women in Argentina at that time. This Evita ‘slept her way to the top’ almost succeeding in becoming vice president.

Finally, an ‘Evita signifier’, the seductress, is in a position of power. However, sadly, Evita or any woman cannot be in a position of power without having ‘abused’ their feminine characteristics as is depicted by the seducing ‘Evita signifier’. If a woman enters a position of power she challenges the definition of power. Because society seeks to define and categorize they must find a place to fit this woman of power. She does not fit conveniently and therefore ideas about women in power have been construed to explain her role. Often women in power play the role of seductress. Evita seduced men with her ‘femininity’ and then convinced them to place her in a position of power. This Evita completes many seductions, and finally is granted with what must have been her most desirable opportunity; the seduction of the Argentineans. By drawing Evita as the seducer we reject the idea that she received her position of power by merit or legitimate channels. As a seductress, she cannot achieve success by ‘intelligence’ and ‘hard work’ – and in her quest for power she is presented as femininely feeble because she has to ‘resort’ to this weaker avenue of appealing to the people. A seductress uses people. A seductress does not deserve power.

Interestingly, the admirable characteristics seen in men of power are unbecoming when applied to women. Because power is masculine, a woman who has power cannot be totally ‘female’. If she is not female, or male then what is she? How can this woman be defined? How can women be in a position of power? Men in power ‘befriend’ people who will help their career advancement and their actions are considered ‘smart’. If a woman were to make the same choices and perform the same actions however, her colleagues would be more apt to say “She’s using him to get more power” or even go as far as to say the woman is a seductress, using her ‘feminine’ characteristics to ‘blind’ the poor befuddled male into promoting her advancement which consequently illegitimates any action or decision she will ever make.

When a woman occupies a position of power society offers an excuse, an illusion or a “whore”. Evita was not any of those specifically, nor is any woman in power. However, because power is gendered masculine, it’s hard for a woman to escape the feminine tropes associated with that position. Evita was not a victim, or an angel or a seducer. She could have been a combination of all three. But more than that, she was a woman who affected the lives of many people. Regardless of the way people perceive her, she was a human, not perfect or completely flawed. Our limited categories for woman in power do not leave room for a person. Certainly we can construct three plausible ‘Evita signifiers’ but none of those signifiers is Evita. Evita is multi-dimensional, like any human male or female, and her position of power in Argentina should not construct her as a caricature.

Sadly, the definition of power is still not gender inclusive. Until society defines power as ‘gender free’ or ‘gender inclusive’ Evita Peron and many women trying to evade the borders of masculine power will fall into the grossly exaggerated definitions of what women in power are. Our only hope for challenging the ideas about women in power is by continuing to critically look at perceptions of women in power. By uncovering those perceptions, exposing them to others, perhaps the confines placed on women in power can someday be eradicated and we can have a global, ‘gender-free’ power.

Sources cited:
Evita Biography: A&E Home Video, 1996
Evita: starring Madonna, 1996
Evita Peron Historical Research Foundation: www.evitaperon.org
*’Evita signifier’ terminology borrowed from Professor Rita De Grandis