This Inspiring Magazine Looks Inside the Female Gaze & Film Photography

A call to flip the script for “the gaze” in artistic expression has led many mediums to bring the female gaze into it’s element.

Historically, the male gaze has dominated the myriad of mediums that comprise art and media culture. Women are traditionally positioned as objects of desire, as seen through a male character or male-dominated audience’s eyes.

Where are all the women?

Women are there, they just aren’t being represented.

However, several mediums including TV shows, musical theater and film production are exposing audiences to the many elements that make up the developing female gaze while also showcasing female creators.

One such project that aims to celebrate both the female gaze and female creators is the independent print magazine, She Shoots Film. After starting out as an online blog and moving to Instagram, She Shoots Film has built its publication around film photography, women in photography and female audiences, bringing attention to the female gaze.

Aliki Smith, co-founder of She Shoots Film, explains in her article titled “On Being A Woman Photographer”, that National Geographic’s 125^th Anniversary Collector’s edition titled ‘The Power of Photography (2013)’ “was dominated by the ‘power’ of the male photographer – plural.”

She continues on to note that “four out of 96 photographs in the issue were made by women”.

Self portrait by @conorleslie | #sheshootsfilm #pentax #35mm

A post shared by She Shoots Film ?️ (@sheshootsfilm) on Apr 21, 2017 at 4:00am PDT

“Beauty is not about looking pretty” by @siegridcain ? | #sheshootsfilm #filmphotography #believeinfilm

A post shared by She Shoots Film ?️ (@sheshootsfilm) on May 26, 2017 at 4:25pm PDT

From Dana Lixenberg’s incredible Imperial Courts work | #danalixenberg #imperialcourts #sheshootsfilm #largeformat #blackandwhite | Notes on Twenty-two Years at Imperial Courts (1993-2015) by Dana Lixenberg has been featured in Vol. II of @theheavycollective – thank you to @perimeterbooks for the copy ?

A post shared by She Shoots Film ?️ (@sheshootsfilm) on Jan 27, 2017 at 3:27pm PST

Nashville, 2016 by @amyjasek with a #hasselblad and #kodak #trix film | Selected by @alikismith #sheshootsfilm #curator #filmphotography #blackandwhite #streetphotography

A post shared by She Shoots Film ?️ (@sheshootsfilm) on Aug 6, 2016 at 6:12am PDT

“Color coordinated” by our first ever interviewee, the brilliant @deborahcandeub ? | #sheshootsfilm #fujifilm #mediumformat #filmphotography

A post shared by She Shoots Film ?️ (@sheshootsfilm) on Feb 16, 2017 at 8:39pm PST

“Senami, March ’17. On Fuji XTRA 400” by @annikaweertz | #sheshootsfilm #35mm #filmphotography

A post shared by She Shoots Film ?️ (@sheshootsfilm) on Apr 13, 2017 at 3:16pm PDT

“As most of my work is centered around my experience of the female body, here I have created images with the body in its most extremely “feminine” state. Small performative gestures take place, and the camera acts as both collaborator and viewer, co-conspirator and audience…They record an inhabitation and navigation of the project space whilst also bearing witness to the process of their creation.” ~ Clare Rae. Mother submission. Tremendous. This is a reminder to all the incredible female photographers that use film or alternative process photographic methods. Contribute to MOTHER – the next print issue of She Shoots Film (no. 02). We’ve had incredible response so far. THANK YOU to all the women that have already submitted. Submissions are still being accepted. We encourage both traditional and unconventional interpretations of the theme. We are also open to receiving images that were created some time ago. Details: Email [email protected] up to 12 images for consideration. Images must be saved as high quality jpg files at 300PPI and sized to approximately 12″ on the longest side of the image. *Note: We only accept film photography or analogue process photography. http://sheshootsfilm.photography/call-for-entries-mother/ Image credit: Clare Rae #sheshootsfilm #filmphotography #print #magazine #publication

A post shared by She Shoots Film ?️ (@sheshootsfilm) on Sep 24, 2016 at 2:00am PDT

Lynn Johnson,  Bathing, From her Women’s Health: An Endless Battle series ? “In 2013, National Geographic released its 125th Anniversary Collector’s Edition. Quite an incredible issue. Themed ‘The Power of Photography’, the cover is adorned with Steve McCurry’s close up of Sharbat Gula, the “Afghan Girl”. At first excited, I quickly realised that ‘The Power of Photography’ was dominated by the ‘power’ of the male photographer – plural. A quick scan of the contents page reveals that all the featured pieces in this issue have a male photographer attached. Safe to say that my initial delight at stumbling upon ‘The Power of Photography’ was soon met with a disheartening thud. I searched through the magazine for photographs that were credited with female photographers. It turns out that in a sea of incredible photographs, the significant majority were made by men. Put simply, four out of 96 photographs in the issue were made by women.” ➖ Select the link in the profile to read the entire article: http://sheshootsfilm.photography/on-being-a-woman-photographer/ #sheshootsfilm #filmphotography #photography #sexism

A post shared by She Shoots Film ?️ (@sheshootsfilm) on Aug 20, 2016 at 3:19pm PDT

@celesteoch Celeste Ortiz Fotografía Autorretrato, Octubre, 2013 Impossible Project Film PX680 | #sheshootsfilm #filmphotography #impossibleproject #instant #selfportrait ❤

A post shared by She Shoots Film ?️ (@sheshootsfilm) on Aug 27, 2016 at 4:28am PDT

All photographers featured either online or in print represent “seasoned film photographers and amateurs that make images and photographs with a woman’s eye,” according to the publications website.

She Shoots Film released its first issue, Self Portrait, in March 2017. The 100-page issue features photographic contributions and interviews from 31 contributors all brought together into “an exploration of film and analog process based female self portraiture and artist words on the printed page.”

The biannual publication is currently accepting submissions for its second issue, themed “Mother”.

Visit their website here for more info about contributors and their next issue.

More questions about reversing the gaze? Check out recreations of album covers and music videos.

Images courtesy: Lucy Guernier, She Shoots Film