feature: hilarious ‘barbie savior’ parodies savior complex of some white ngo volunteers in africa

Oh, boy. I’m just going to speak for myself when I say that every time a white friend travels to a poor brown country in Africa to spread White Jesus™, I roll my eyes. It’s not that philanthropic work is ridiculous, it’s that there’s something a little too exploitative and self-serving about a picture of a white face grinning amongst a sea of impoverished or disenfranchised black and brown faces. Lucky for us, I’m not the only cynical asshole out there! Some lovely (super funny) folx created an Instagram account, modeled after the now defunct Socality Barbie, that parodies the social media feeds of white volunteers in Africa. @barbiesavior was created by two white women who describe themselves as former “white saviors” and used their own experiences as volunteers on the continent as inspiration for the account. “We were never as ‘savioresque’ as Barbie Savior, but we did things back in our White Savior days that we regret,” the creators told The Huffington Post.

www.instagram.com/barbiesavior

*Erin White is an Atlanta-based writer and AFROPUNK’s editorial and social media assistant. You can follow her on Tumblr or friend her on Facebook. Have a pitch or an inquiry? Shoot her an email at erin@afropunk.com.