#Girlgaze: Photography, fourth wave feminism & social media advocacy
Author: Ruxandra Looft
Spoiler Alert: This is my gaze…
Ruxandra Looft writes an essay in regards to the fourth wave feminist movement #girlgaze. She introduces the project first; telling us that the founder Amanda de Cadenet created the girlgaze project in response to her struggle in the photography industry as a woman. De Cadenet was always pushed to remain in front of the camera lens as a model. However, becoming the youngest female photographer to shoot a cover for Vogue and quickly becoming an advocate for female empowerment within the industry, she states ‘this was a glass ceiling. I’ve put a little dent in it but where are all the other girls?’ The project seeks to support woman internationally, who would like to successfully work in an industry that throughout history has typically favoured men behind the lens. Looft explores the advantages of the girlgaze project and the success of the hashtag on social media platforms. The virtual gallery is created through thousands of women captioning their photographic work with the viral hashtag ‘#girlgaze’. The ease of technology, combined with De Cadenet’s celebrity status, allowed the movement to increase with a mass following, sponsorship and mainstream media attention. Ruxandra Looft discusses the disadvantages of the project by stating ‘I argue, however, that we should be wary of any one single person holding such a prominent and dominant role within a community that brands itself as a collective representing disparate and diverse populations.’ Whilst the project celebrates the work of females throughout the world, the photographs that are posted to the Instagram platform are decided by a panel of judges. This idea of hierarchy and one person founding, campaigning and projecting her own individual views onto the narratives of girlgaze colludes with the mission that the movement is fighting for.
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