Photography as a Means of Resistance and its Involvement in the Relationships between the Subject, the Image and tha Audience

Abstract

The aim of this article is to try to assess the potential of photography as a means of resistance for women and feminists. This concept is important because it implies, first and foremost, a subject who is capable of being an agent and whose intentionality can be used to meet many women’s needs, whether as a personal expression, therapy, or in educational campaigns or against violence, to name but a few. Part of this discussion is based on well-known feminist theories on representation and self-representation (e. g. Kuhn, 1985; Pollock, 1990; Mulvey, 1991; Solomon-Godean, 1991; Neumaier, 1995) integrated into some feminist interpretations of Foucault’s models of power/resistance (Bryson, 1988; Sawicki, 1991, McNay, 1992; Bell, 1993). The discussion or relationship between subjectivity, agency and photography is built upon this base, to suggest how and when forms of resistance have occurred or may occur. In order to back up the argument, some uses of self-representation are mentioned throughout the essay as well as the role played by the body in these instances and searches for resistance (as in the work by the body in these instances and searches for resistance (as in the work by Saville and Luchford, 1995/96) and other forms in which women used photography (such as Spence, 1986, 1995; Spence and Solomon, 1995; Greeen, 1995 and Simpson, 1995). Some of the difficulties, risks, implications and responsibilities inherent in the processes of representation are also dealt with and reference is made to the dilemmas involved in the processes of interpretation. The images of Saville and Luchford are discussed in more detail and the issues covered throughout this article are reflected and united in them.