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Being ogled at, cat-called, groped, leered at, threatened, cajoled… These things have become such common occurrences that we just brush it off and get on with our lives. We may get annoyed briefly when it happens, but for the most part we remain silent, ignore the perpetrators and pretend it didn’t happen.
By doing so, we downplay the seriousness of these incidents and allow the cycle of abuse to continue.
This is why these photographs shot by American photographer, Allaire Bartel, are so important. The series was shot for the Young Photographers Alliance Mentoring Program under the theme boundaries. What makes the photographs so gripping is the presence of male hands encroaching on the woman’s space in every image.
On her website Allaire says the purpose of the project was to highlight the everyday oppression woman face, with the emphasis that this doesn’t not only happen in extreme isolated events.
The hands in the photographs represent male entitlement and the woman’s expressionless face shows how conditioned women have become to this treatment.
Here are some of the photographs:
The photographs really hit home and have a tendency to get under your skin. That discomfort you feel when looking at the pictures is very similar to the discomfort you feel when you get cat-called or groped.
The photographs have rightly gone viral and sparked necessary conversation across various platforms. Hopefully they will also encourage you to speak up the next time you are harrassed.
To view the full series check out Allaire’s website.
