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The Elusive Gaze
- This project explores the intersections of gender, class, and visibility through street photography of working-class women in urban settings, captured candidly over six months in 2024. Building on a prior study of working-class men—who often met the camera confidently—this project reveals a stark contrast: most women photographed avoided direct eye contact, their gazes tilting downward or sideways while engaged in tasks like sweeping or selling. This behaviour prompted an investigation into why these women resisted the lens, drawing on theories from scholars like John Berger, Judith Butler, Erving Goffman, and Susan Sontag. Their averted eyes suggest a complex dance of resistance and conformity, reflecting both a rejection of objectification and a performance of societal expectations tied to gender and class.
The women’s elusive gaze challenges the power dynamics inherent in photography. Berger’s idea that women are conditioned to be seen rather than to see, Butler’s view of gender as a repeated act, and Sontag’s critique of photography as appropriation all frame their avoidance as a subtle assertion of agency—disrupting the photographer’s authority while navigating patriarchal norms. Goffman’s lens adds that this could be a staged modesty, amplified by their socioeconomic reality, where public yet undervalued labour heightens scrutiny. Unlike the men in my earlier work, who embraced the camera, these women use their averted glances to shield themselves, balancing exposure and autonomy in a visual culture that often marginalizes them.
This project illuminates how working-class women negotiate visibility, caught between resisting the gaze and adhering to ingrained roles. Their elusive stares contrast men’s bold engagement, revealing a gendered divide shaped by class and power. More than a study of photography, it is a portrait of lived experience—inviting viewers to reconsider how the camera can amplify rather than merely capture its subjects.
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