Flickr women

A superb piece by Jennifer Harvey on the growing phenomena of ‘Flickr women’.

As a female user of the website, I was interested to read of the controversy that has arisen with regards to women voluntarily posting revealing portraits of themselves on the site.
The controversy centres largely on the age old issue of self expression and artistry versus expolitation and sexism.
To some observers, the nude or semi-nude photographs posted to the site, do little more than reinforce stereotypes of women as objects to be desired and leered at, and the fact that the photos are self-portraits, voluntarily posted by the women themselves, is seen nevertheless to run counter to ideals of female empowerment.
It’s interesting that this should be the case, for it has not been my experience of the site. When I first started posting to Flickr, I was very self-conscious and careful as to what I posted.
My guarded approach however was not down to some sensitivity with regards to other people’s sense of propriety, rather it stemmed from a degree of self-consciousness, awkwardness and uncertainty that I have had since I was a child.

More:
From JenHarvey.net

damien

Damien DeBarra was born in the late 20th century and grew up in Dublin, Ireland. He now lives in London, England where he shares a house with four laptops, three bikes and a large collection of chairs.