Ladies First E-Book

Ian Hoskin

• Herausgeber: Clink Street Publishing
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2017

Beschreibung

Ladies First looks at the way society stereotypically views and places differing expectations on women and men. The title of the series plays on a traditional phrase most often used to indicate the custom of women being served first, often by women and allowed to enter or exit first, a privilege granted by men. None of the views expressed in Ladies First are shared by photographer, Ian Hoskin. They have all been identified from conversations, social interaction, the workplace, politics, advertising, magazines, literature, television and radio. When viewed in conjunction with the images, the texts, wherever possible, are the same to highlight the differing way we perceive and treat women and men. Informing these images is the important and topical issue of what are the defining factors that make up masculinity and femininity. Some assumptions about gender are based on societal norms and peer groups, while others on an outdated view of evolutionary biology. Hoskin began working on Ladies First in the 1980s. Some thirty-five years later he realised that sadly few of these cliches had changed. He hopes to shed light on our continued gender stereotyping and push for change and true equality.

Leseprobe

LADIES FIRST

A PHOTOGRAPHIC ESSAY ONGENDER EXPECTATIONS

IAN HOSKIN

London | New York

Published by Clink Street Publishing 2017

Copyright © 2017

First edition.

The authors assert the moral right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act1988 to be identified as the authors of this work.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in aretrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the priorconsent of the author, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or coverother than that with which it is published and without a similar condition beingimposed on the subsequent purchaser.

ISBN: 978-1-912262-51-9E-Book: 978-1-912262-52-6

Dedication

Gina, without you there would be nothing to see.

X i

LADIES FIRST

Ladies First looks at the way society stereotypically views and places differing expectations on womenand men. The title of the series of images plays on a traditional phrase most often used to indicate thecustom of women being served first and allowed to exit or enter first, a privilege granted by men.

None of the views expressed in the text below the images are my own. They have all beenidentified from conversation, social interaction, the workplace, politics, advertising, radio, Television,literature and magazines. Viewed in conjunction with the images, the texts, wherever possible, are thesame to highlight the differing ways we perceive and treat women and men. Informing these images isthe important and topical issue of what are the defining factors that make up femininity and masculinity.

Some assumptions about gender are based on societal norms and peer groups, while others on anoutdated view of evolutionary biology. Are women really programmed by their biology to care forchildren and the elderly while their man metaphorically chase dinner across the Savannah? There is avestige of this thinking still current in our society and that thinking is just as relevant between the twogenders as it is within each one: Much of the social pressure to conform to gender stereotypes comesfrom within a same-sex group.

The series of images was started in 1980 and after a gap of 35 years I did have to ask myself if it wouldstill be relevant, but with the continuing lack of women in top jobs, issues like television’s “Sofagate” andmost recently the BBC’s gender pay inequality, coupled with the nontraditional way I had chosen to livein the intervening years, I realised it had become more important to contribute to the dialogue on theissue of gender. As one area of gender inequality is pinned down with legislation another one takes itsplace.