In conceptualizing this project, I found myself asking, “What makes a person feel feminine?” I began thinking about how this question, creates a visual representation on our branded identity. This project addresses people cope with femininity and what does that look like. I question how gendered roles affect this representation. In thinking about how to tell this story, I decided a level of intimacy was required by having subjects tell their stories of identity, sexuality, and body.

I am interested in how people from varying backgrounds choose to embrace or reject their feminine identity, and how that manifests itself visually. The stories vary based on personal experience, upbringing, location, class, and race. The stories are about the relationship between the body and femininity. I am interested in how people’s thoughts about femininity manifest in their physical appearance, and wish to depict this through my lens. 

This is an ongoing project that began in September 2016. I began testing the concept, with seven subjects. Each photo shoot began with a conversation. Subjects discussed their life experiences, and the choices they made that impacted their branded feminine identity. The series hinges on these conversations, and has proven to be genuine and empowering. As a photographer, I have taken their intimate stories and depicted them visually. This is an adaptation piece, which re-creates the subjects memories and stories that are reflected through their visual representation of femininity.