For the last two weekends, I have been shooting permission-based street portraits, with my iPhone 15 Pro Max, as I have done the last few years, at the Sherwood Forest Faire.
It is always one of my favorite times of the year. Click.
These photos are not from the Faire but are archetypal to the suppression challenges that many women face worldwide.
I have to get this off my chest.
This experience irked me to no end.
It was my first shot of the day. I spotted a well-groomed, well-dressed, 40-something woman, surrounded by 3 small children.
She was stunning. Wow.
I quietly and respectfully approached her, as I did all my portrait subjects, told her she caught my eye and asked her if she wouldn’t mind posing for a quick photograph.
Her eyes lit up with joy and excitement. Yes, yes, yes was her attitude.
I could see it in her body language. She was thrilled to be asked.
She asked the oldest child to watch the other two while she posed for a picture.
She was beautiful, in so many ways.
I felt that, somehow, not knowing any of her relationship backstory, this simple, short session together, temporarily validated her. I was happy to be a part of this esteem-building process.
Click. Click again.
Then, sadly, for both the woman and myself, her husband shows up and starts obnoxiously grilling me with questions in a very accusatory tone?
“Why are you taking these photos?” “Where will they be published?” “Am I getting paid for them?” Question after question. Blah, blah, blah.
The woman’s countenance and body language changed immediately.
In the presence of her partner, she was now withdrawn, timid, nervous, and shrinking.
The spark in her eyes was smothered and extinguished.
The session abruptly ended. She looked defeated.
How could she not be with a partner like this?
His tone was controlling, offensive, disagreeable, and very off-putting.
I’ve seen this exact same dislikeable attitude before, from husbands and partners.
It’s loathsome and disgusting.
Women are not property. They are not indentured slaves. They are people, with free will and ideas.
We don’t own them. They are gifts. They can have opinions and come and go as they fucking please.
Women are co-creators in life.
To all the women in the world who are suppressed by their partners…we feel your pain.
We see you. We validate you. We know who you are. You are beautiful. Be strong. Some partners are just jerks. Could you rise above the fray?
Click.
Jack
