According to The Huffington Post, 1 in 4 women will be a victim of sexual assault in their lifetime. Is this a result of mainstream media’s beligerent objectification of women? Many suppose so. After all, the brain cannot differentiate between what is real and what is imagined.
As a result, it has become almost normal for the average female to be viewed as an object, rather than a person worthy of respect and a glance above breast-level.
The photo series “Boundaries” seeks to expose just this. Reports GOOD, the controversial compilation, created by photographer Allaire Bartel, draws attention to the oppression of male entitlement that women feel on a daily basis in everyday life.
Bartel explains on her website:
“I was particularly determined to express the idea that oppression of women does not just occur in extreme isolated incidents (violent rape and physical abuse) but can also be felt in lesser forms during the day to day.”
All of the photos feature a young female professional engaging in her daily routines. From yoga to getting a drink at a bar, she’s constantly feeling – yet ignoring – unwanted male attention.
“The concept of male entitlement is represented by male arms and hands performing a variety of actions that are overwhelming intrusive on her body and her life. In each situation she maintains a blank expression, a visual choice that demonstrates how conditioned we as women have become to accept this atmosphere as excusable and even normal,”she wrote.
In The Kitchen
Credit: Allaire Bartel
At The Office
Credit: Allaire Bartel
In The Gym
Credit: Allaire Bartel
Out For A Drink
Credit: Allaire Bartel
Walking Alone
Credit: Allaire Bartel