Come On Girls, Let's Take PIX!

She's young!  She's blonde!  She's cute!  She's the embodiment of women photographers!

There’s been blowback against Nielsen and PDN on FB and Twitter for their proposed new magazine, PIX, aimed at women photographers.  And more here and here .

With stories like:

"Smudge-proof makeup tips for long days behind the camera"

"Seasonal Flats: these flats will keep your feet covered, comfortable and cute while you're on photo shoots,"
and stories on wedding photography and photographing newborns, you might think you had traveled back in time.  It’s easy to think that, but what really gets my blood boiling, is that once again, women are being marginalized.

Yes, we may be half of the population (and yes, we hold up half the sky), but why do we need to be singled out?  And why, once again are we being told that shopping is an integral part of a profession?  We've been bombarded by TV shows about weddings, wedding dresses, wedding as competition, by “Bad Girls Clubs,” and fame through Internet sex tapes; by the recent rape “jokes” of a so-called comedian, and by major magazine stories like TIME’s “Are You Mom Enough?” (to single out just a few).  It's as if there never was a feminist movement.

And for every strong woman in the public eye there is a story commenting on her hair, her looks, why she’s a bitch, or how nice her clothes are.  All of MSM is responsible, but they are not alone.  The “girlization” (I didn’t make that up) of females in our society has been going on for a while now.  And as much as I love the craft world, and the attention to décor and design, they focus so much on “cuteness.”  Since their primary audience is women, they also take part in making all women seem only focused on shopping and the home.  They make women seem non-threatening and they put women in their place.

"If you love to snap photos, chances are you're pretty creative and artsy about the rest of your world too," writes Pix's Editor-in-Chief. "It's important to you that your business is modern and cool, you've always got an eye out for hip clothing and accessories, and looking professional and shooting well are top priorities." 

In the past year photographers have been kidnapped, assaulted, and killed.  Women photographers have had to defend themselves against claims that they shouldn't shoot what they do.  Will “smudge-proof makeup” or “luminous lenses” help in Syria?  Ask Lynsey Addario, or Stephanie Sinclair, or Kate Brooks, or any number of women what they think. Do you think Margaret Bourke-White was worried about her mascara when she photographed Buchenwald? When did selling clothing and accessories become a cash cow for a photography-focused media company?

When we look around, all we see are efforts to defame and marginalize women.  It’s not just the Taliban who keep women down.  Republicans around the country are proposing and passing laws to keep women pregnant; to keep them without access to healthcare or child care or jobs training, or anything that might help propel them forward. Rape is still used as a tool of war.

This is such a blatant attempt to jump on the selling bandwagon, to appeal to young women who are obsessed with what they wear and with buying the perfect things they use, women who "take pictures" of pretty things.  Not woman who are professional photographers, or who aspire to be.

Is this the best Neilsen can come up with to make more money?  Have they run out of contest categories?  It makes photography seems like just a flirtation, and not a means of giving voice, and certainly not a real career. In this struggling economy, just making a living as a photographer is hard enough, now you have to worry that your makeup is right?

Surprised?  No.  Disgusted?  Yes.  Think this is going to stop anytime soon?

Why Does Lynsey Addario Have to Justify Her Work?

When Lynsey Addario and three others (Tyler Hicks, Anthony Shadid and Stephen Farrell) were released by the Libyan government, we all breathed a sigh of relief. An accomplished photographer who was honored with a MacArthur Genius Grant, Lynsey Addario is among the premier photojournalists working today. Yet after The New York Times ran an account of the release, several people commented by asking what a woman was doing in a war zone to begin with. I went back to look at the comments from their account, but most of the negative comments have been removed--why is that?.

There was this comment, however: "After the Lara Logan assault in Egypt, I consider it an act of utmost stupidity for any woman journalist to go into any war, combat zone. fighting strips people of much humanity and you should know that. And in an already sexually abusive towards woman region what was Lynsey doing there?? why didn't the 3 male reporters object for her own safety!
And why did NYT allow her to go on this mission!
The men, I dont care about ... thats what they do. The woman, in this region, with this much abuse potential.. someone should be sued !!!"

Coupled with esteemed photograher Harry Benson's recent screed about Lara Logan (who was molested by a crowd during her coverage of the uprising in Egypt): "The last place for a young, attractive woman to be is in the middle of an extremely dangerous situation surrounded by an angry mob. Not only does it put her in harm’s way, but it compromises her co-workers as well, since they have to try to protect her as best they can – sometimes an impossible task."

He continues, "I am all for women doing whatever job that men do. Honestly, many times I find the women I work with to be smarter than the men. But shame on the editors at CBS who assigned a beautiful woman to cover a very dangerous situation. Their lack of judgment should have been tempered with a little common sense. Their decision about whom to send to cover the uprising and political unrest should not have been made for fear of being politically incorrect."

Suddenly I feel like I'm back in the 1950's. Why the constant mention of "beautiful," and what the fuck is he talking about?

As Lynsey herself said: "To me, that’s grossly offensive. This is my life, and I make my own decisions. If a woman wants to be a war photographer, she should. It’s important. Women offer a different perspective. We have access to women on a different level than men have, just as male photographers have a different relationship with the men they’re covering.In the Muslim world, most of my male colleagues can’t enter private homes. They can’t hang out with very conservative Muslim families. I have always been able to. It’s not easy to get the right to photograph in a house, but at least I have one foot in the door. I’ve always found it a great advantage, being a woman."

It is insulting to Lynsey and all the other amazing photojournalists (including Caroline Cole, Carol Guzy, Stephanie Sinclair, Susan Meiselas, Nina Berman, Sara Terry, Mary F. Calvert and many others) who risk their lives, who make great sacrifices and who face danger to say they should not do what they believe in because they are women.

I do not need to recount the amazing bravery and accomplishments of women throughout history--or do I?. This is 2011: take your patriarchal, condescending, asshole ideas and throw them away. Women make choices and they live with them--same as men. We should thank those who are braver than ourselves for the incredible risks they sometimes have to take to show the world to us. Where would we be without them?