How Do I Look?

from Catherine

Gender is a form of class membership. Gender stands for place in society, and your rank in the community. Young children, beginning at birth, are introduced to this type of category. In the picture, "How do I look?", I wanted to express at how young an age gender really starts and even at younger ages, such as birth. Women are most always concerned with the way that they look. This comes from generations of women teaching their children about gender. Also children seem to mimic their parents, grandparents or any adult at everything, even when they are getting dressed to go out. Children are dressed in colors and fashions that relate to their sex. I asked the mother to dress the child in clothes that they would wear every day, and to allow me to take a picture with the child's reaction to their look. Looking in the mirror, I wanted to show the bold colors against the soft background furniture, but contrasted against the bold colors of the toys, showing that girls feel they need to stand out. The space between the mirror and the child were also essential to me. I wanted to represent the time that it takes to look ourselves over before we "come in for a closer look" of details. The child's reaction is quite obvious. Approval starts with yourself even before others judge you. I also wanted the child to feel comfortable with the way she looked, so I offered her a toy and after looking in the mirror, she chose the item that made her feel most comfortable. The picture was also taken with angles. The photo is at an angle from the mirror, showing that posture and form, dress details and looks, makes an impression on anyone, even the person looking in the mirror. What do you think?