As a Xicana photographer, I have always experienced misogyny within the photo industry. Throughout history, photography has always been seen as a male dominant, wait no, a white male dominant form of media. Ranging from commercial and mainstream opportunities to private events, the main people seen documenting said events is the white man. With the industry being centered around the lens of a white man, there is a significance of female and BIPOC artists to use this medium as a form of acceptance.
The importance of photography being a form of acceptance falls under the medium to be inclusive of not just gender but race as well. When it comes to art and this medium specifically, there is a lack of representation from female and BIPOC photographers. With the lack of representation there are many opportunities that are being suppressed in society and in the media. It is important that as a society we must decolonize the mindset that white men should be given the first choice for photographing many opportunities, we must allow for others to have a chance.
Not only is it very normalized to see that in society the most popular artwork we know is from male photographers. Most of the time their work is repetitive while a woman’s work is unique and caters to the right audience especially in the fashion industry, just as one example. The photography industry is one that has been simple to just brush off the talent of a female artist and give the opportunity to the white man, since society and history has always been that way. In order to allow for more BIPOC and female artists in the photographic field, the one thing that should be done is decolonize the field in the first place. We must break the mindset and the normalization that it is only the white man who is given the opportunity. The field of photography is not only glorified for the white man, but in the sense that colorblind white dominance is allowing for a heavily misogynistic field to come to play.
Photography is important to be seen as a form of acceptance because we are breaking the barrier of expectations in society. The portrayal of women in the industry would be so much different if it weren’t for 80 years of male dominance centered around photography, not only in pop culture but in society as whole. Setting sights on the expectations of how mainstream media should be, there has been nothing but an internalized misogynistic approach. With the portrayal of hyper-sexualizing models, we can also see how there is an unbiased mindset. With this unbiased mindset, we see how the opportunities and the audience favor the white male photographers.
There are antiquated male standards for commercial photography that are holding back female photographers to have a grasp and showcase their work and allow them to rebel against the norm. One important aspect of researching misogyny behind photography was how the expectation of this medium was centered behind the female gaze and the male gaze theory. The male gaze is defined as heterosexual men objectifying women for their desire and how they present it to their audience. In contrast, the female gaze is seen as women being powerful and we see how the world works through their lens. The male gaze is very glorified in the field which is why many female photographers are trying to break the barrier and rebel against the norm. It is important to understand photography as a form of acceptance because it allows for a generation, to define their identity and allow for stories to be created and accepted in society.
