The above images focus on the struggles and issues with trying to navigate gender identity in a society that doesn’t accept you. I have used both positive and negative examples, with some images reflecting the breaking, smashing and ruining of items that represent female beauty standards, therefore allowing the individual to be liberated from the pressures and strains of beauty standards. Alternatively, I have also made reference to more negative consequences of beauty standards, with one of the images depicting a female subject applying lipstick while crying, representing the affects of the pressure on women to adhere to society’s standards of beauty. The final image depicts male hands covered in jewelry, and although this can be used to represent the liberation of gender identity and expression (with the subject able to express their like of jewelry regardless of their gender), the way in which the jewelry is placed can also represent a chain/ties, used to restrict the hands.

Overall, I feel like this photo-shoot has been a success. I have developed one of my favorite images from the project (black and white hands), and will be using these images in my final book, as I feel like they successfully represent the struggles and triumphs of adhering to (and rebelling against) beauty standards and stereotypes.