The Representation of Women Through Photography

What does it mean to be a woman? How does one tell the story of what a woman is? For decades, women have been both the photographer and the subject to be photographed. There are many different ways which women can be represented through photography. Whether it is to show the history of what being a woman means or to use photography as a medium for which issues surrounding women rights and health can be projected. More recently, women are being shown as inspiration and art through photography. The perception of what a woman is continues to evolve and through this paper, I aim to show the different ways in which the story of a woman can be told through photography.

Women as History: A Semiotic Analysis

Photographer: Christina Broom, 1910

The silk flag which is bellowing in the wind represents the Women's Social and Political Union– a political movement in the United Kingdom fighting for the right of women to vote. The woman’s name is Charlotte Marsh who was a suffragette organiser during that time. Knowing the context of the photo adds another dimension to the meaning of the image as while it is a beautiful moment, it also makes a strong political stance. This photo signifies the efforts of the women of our past who had to fight for a right as simple to vote.

Personally, this image makes me very grateful for the strength of the women in this time as if it was not for them, then I would not be able to vote and have the rights I have today. This image is also very inspiring as it makes me want to continue the legacy that these women were fighting for. There are still so many fields in which women are underrepresented, photography being one of them. Images such as these make it seem worth it to continue to fight for the representation and equal rights of women in our time today. It is inspiring that a single image can be so powerful that it evokes motivation from the year of 1910 and still to this day in 2023.

Women as Awareness

Photographer: Lizzie Sadin

This image comes from a project that the French photographer, Lizzie Sadin did to raise awareness about domestic violence in France. The project is called “Is This How Women Live?” and she aims to invoke emotion in people through her images to raise awareness about the women that have and continue to experience domestic violence. Her photos are quite captivating as she captures raw moments of vulnerability. The images make me emotional as it is sad to think that so many women live in fear. Home is not a place of comfort for these women but rather, it is a place associated with fear and anger. Lizzie acknowledges that these photos may come off as disturbing but her goal was to capture the moments that are rarely seen. She wants to fight against the veil of silence that these women live behind. The discussion of issues such as domestic violence is extremely important because most people do not realise the amount of women that go through these types of experiences. Photography is a powerful medium for raising awareness as images can immediately trigger emotion in a way that resonates more with some compared to a lengthy block of text. Sometimes the only way to create change is to show people what is happening in reality by capturing those moments that are normally silenced.

Women as Inspiration

Photographer: Gisèle Freund

A letter to Frida:

How is it that you radiate both confidence and humbleness? Your gaze intensely focuses on something in the distance as if you’re a lion stalking its prey but you clench onto your arm with a hand filled with jewels to give you comfort. Your feminine energy is transparent in every photograph taken of you. There is no effort needed as your lived experiences speak for themselves. You showed no fear in standing up for yourself and you made sure to never be shadowed by a man. Despite the hardship you had gone through with your injury, you prevailed in pursuing your passion for painting and you never let that hold you back in anything that you did. Whether you are dressed in jewels with your hair pulled back or in linen pants and a T-shirt with your hair flowing in the breeze, you come to life in an image and invite us viewers to experience the world through the same eyes as yours. You are an inspiration to women. The images of you tell a story of resilience and I aspire to be a woman as confident and passionate as you. Thank you Frida. Thank you for giving me inspiration through your story.

Women as Art

Photographer: Tuija Lindström

Too often, the nude body of a woman is sexualized in the media and through photography. Photographer Tuija Lindström explores how the woman's body can be represented as art through her collection named “The Women at Tjursjön”. In this series, she photographs nude women floating in the Tjursjön lake in Sweden. In these photographs, the women look free. They appear in a state of mind where their thoughts are simple and uplifting. Any trauma, anger, or frustration in their life is forgotten and the weight of their body is held up by the depths of the water. The simplicity of the photos is what makes them beautiful and the fact that the women are nude adds to the concept of the art piece. They are in their most simple state of being and the woman's body is not being celebrated but rather, incorporated within the photographs.

This is one of the major differences between men and women photography. Throughout history, women have been photographed for a reason or a particular motivation. For instance, to raise awareness about women rights as Christina Broom displayed or to show the effects of certain issues that women still face such as how Lizzie Sadin represented domestic violence. It is rare to just see a woman being represented as art. This is a reflection of the stage that we are at in society. We still need to photograph women to raise awareness as there are still so many issues that many women face on a daily basis. Perhaps in the future we will reach a day where this is not needed anymore and women are just viewed as art through the eyes of photographers and society.

A Woman Through my Eyes

Photographer: Jacklyn Halaburda

This is a photo that I took of Latisha who I met while strolling the many booths set up in the Spitalfields market in London. This image was inspired by the German-American artist, Evelyn Hofer as she takes black and white images that show people doing things that they do on a daily basis. I wanted to capture Latisha in her booth where she sells vintage and up-cycled clothing. It is important to highlight the careers of women and this image shows the pride that Latisha has for the clothes that she has sourced and up-cycled.

I wanted this photo to be light hearted and fun. I wanted it to be a representation of a woman who is passionate and happy about her career. I wanted people to ask: “do I know women who are happy with what they do? Am I happy with what I do?”. This photograph is meant to inspire people to follow their passions and to invite them to reflect upon what they currently do compared to what they aspire to do. Through Evelyn Hofer’s photographs, you can identify the people that appear happy and the ones that are bored or miserable. It is quite interesting to see these photographs as everyone is shown doing what they do everyday however, they all reflect different emotions in the state of their routine.

What Does it Mean to be a Woman?

A woman is strong. A woman is confident. A woman is humble. A woman is scared. A woman is angry.

A Woman can be many things. Photography has the power to show women from all aspects. Photography can show women in their most vulnerable states and in their most confident states. It is important for photographers to reflect upon the way in which they are representing women through their photos and to ensure that they are telling a woman’s story the way she wants it to be told. It is ultimately a photographer's responsibility to contribute to changing society’s perception of what a woman represents as they are telling the story of every woman they photograph.

A woman is art.