Stereotypes Womxn Photographers Face Today
Credit: Daria Kobayashi Ritch
Women are breaking boundaries in many industries, and photography is no different - but the journey to equality is far from done. Read on to see some stereotypes female photographers face and ways to deal with them.
Credit: Emma Craft
Women photographers have come a long way since the early pioneers. The English botanist Anna Atkins (1799-1871) is considered to be the first female photographer but there were many others. Frances Benjamin Johnson (1964-1952) was the first woman to open a studio in Washington DC.
And, when it comes to photojournalism, which began as a male-dominated field, we now see a more significant contribution from female photographers – and certainly, more than they get credit for. Just take a look at these Trailblazers of Light – women who pursued their passion for visual storytelling with dogged determination and often against the odds – and get inspired.
“As women, society forces us to constantly demonstrate that we can achieve the same level as a man when they are not even questioned if they can do it or not. Having to put up with belittling and patronizing comments, harassment, the demeaning of our achievements, fewer opportunities, a lower salary, being denied coverages and trips for the simple fact of being women, and above all this also having to prove that you can be equal or better than a man is a very heavy burden.”
Eloisa Sánchez @saudadelo
The uncomfortable truth is that female photographers are still routinely subjected to gender stereotyping, often struggling to be fully accepted and respected for their technical skills and artistic achievements, both by male colleagues and clients. If you are an aspiring or accomplished photographer, you need to be prepared to deal with this. We’ve put together some of the typical questions you can expect to encounter that are both compromising and undermining to women photographers’ professionalism and sense of belonging within the industry.
