In the last blog post, I was excited to share two of my favourite photographers – however, there is still one more photographer I would love to shine a light on.
3. Ashley Armitage
Ashley Armitage is a Seattle-based photographer who places the importance of female representation in her images, wanting to normalise all body types and go against societal beauty standards.
Her passion for female representation began when she was studying film at a small arts-focused school. She noticed that out of her 300 peers, only 15 were women. She described that during class projects, the women were always given the role of stylists and makeup artists, meanwhile, the men were chosen as the directors and producers. This frustrated her and she set out to make her own film from the female gaze. However, this was increasingly difficult as all she had access to were male screenwriters and editors who continuously overrode her decisions. After a year in the program, she quit.
She went on to pursue photography instead, which gave her full creative control. She began taking pictures of her friends, not holding back. She shot unshaved bikini lines and period-stained underwear. She received criticism online from male trolls, however, this only made her realise there was more to be done in order to normalise the natural female body - so she continued.
"It was mainly men talking about how they felt and whether or not the photo was sexy to a man." - Ashley Armitage to Glamour
One of her most notable pieces of work was her adverts for 'Billie' - a brand that sells razors. The advert was the first-ever hair-removal advert that actually showed women shaving their body hair. One of these commercials was deemed so controversial for showing female pubic hair that Facebook censored the advert for 'adult content'.
You may be able to tell from my selection, that I truly love contemporary female photographers. I feel that women are still disproportionally represented within the industry, as a woman going into the creative industry – this is something that concerns me. Why are women still not being given equal opportunities to men?
"If you look at the most successful photographers in the world, the top ten are all male […] Photography has been a male-dominated business since it began." – Amanda de Cadenet, Photographer and Actress.
The photographers I chose all fight for representation in the media in their own way, whether it is displaying a beautiful culture, or reflecting on the female experience of growing up. What I’ve learned from this research is, representation is what has been missing from the creative industries for a long time.
As someone going into a creative career, I want to help make a change. Although I may not consider photography as a career, I know whichever path I take, I also want my work to uplift other women, much like what Petra Collins and Ashley Armitage are doing. I think platforms such as ‘Girl Gaze’ are currently doing an incredible job at promoting young female creatives, and this is something I would love to get involved in the near future.
SOURCES:
https://metalmagazine.eu/en/post/interview/ashley-armitage-all-bodies-are-beautiful https://prettybird.co/us/talent/creatives/ashley-armitage/biography/
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