Photography was at first considered to be a 'lower' art form, so women were able to use it to become artists, like Julia Margaret; Were as, for instance, fine art was a lot more male dominated.

Julia Maragaret Cameron became a photographer in 1863 when she receieved a camera from her daughter as a gift.
Within a year, Cameron became a member of the Photographic Societies of London and Scotland. In her photography, Cameron strove to capture beauty. She wrote, "I longed to arrest all the beauty that came before me and at length the longing has been satisfied." Source :Wikipedia

Cindy Sherman is considered a modern pioneer of feminist photography although she, herself, has dismissed this. There is no doubt however that her images force the viewer to consider the perception of females in soceity and often play on sterotypes. She says of her 1982 centre-folds:

"In content I wanted a man opening up the magazine suddenly look at it with an expectation of something lascivious and then feel like the violator that they would be. Looking at this woman who is perhaps a victim. I didn't think of them as victims at the time... But I suppose... Obviously I'm trying to make someone feel bad for having a certain expectation."

Cormac



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