P2A Communication UII: Viewing and Making Photos with Feminine Perspective
Men have dominated photography. Every time Allmark sees a photographer, both in print and online, it is inhabited by a male figure. Even if you see female photographers, only a few. The resulting photos also tend to be framing born of patriarchal culture. Feminine photography was taken to critique and an alternative to capturing images that look from the feminine side.
Panizza Allmark, Professor of Visual and Cultural Studies from Edith Cowan University, Australia, presented the results of her study on feminine photography in a 2021 P2A Ice Cream Webinar, International Course on Creative Media. This year’s Passage to ASEAN (P2A) takes the theme Inspiring the World with Creative Production. P2A Ice cream 2021 was initiated by the Communication Science Program at the Universitas Islam Indonesia on November 16, 2021.
Besides UII, other universities are co-hosts, for example, Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) and Duy Tan University Vietnam. At the same time, some of the official partners include AIC (Academy International Cambodia), Unika Atma Jaya Jakarta, Binus University, Genetic Computer School Singapore, University of Economic and Law Vietnam, Vietnam National University, Svay Rieng University, Victoria University College, and other.
In her presentation “Photography feminine and documentary photography,” Allmark explained a lot about what feminine photography is and why this perspective was born in the world of photography. “Feminine photography is a critique of patriarchal representation. The camera is usually behind the man and represents the male perspective. Because, so far, its history has been dominated by men.”
The camera, a shooting tool for framing photos, can now be seen from a feminine perspective. To show what feminine photography looks like, Allmark also displays pictures of her work. She wants to show that feminine photography is not just a photographer who is physically female because women can have a patriarchal perspective.
Some of the photos presented by Allmark are photos showing demonstrations of women with traumatized faces because authoritarian governments took their children. They are demonstrating demanding information and their child back. In one of the photos, two women are about to hug while still wearing the protest sign still wrapped around their shoulders during the demonstration.
She wanted to show how the psychological condition of women because their children were missing and when they supported each other during protests.
Other photos are photos that attempt to reframe photos produced by the patriarchy. She took photos randomly wherever she was.
“I want to show a different perspective. These photos try to appear as a critique of the existing photos,” She said.
Panizza also takes a photo in Bangkok, which is a photo which contains a picture of a woman who has won an academic degree, along with an image of a woman posing vulgarly in underwear.
Allmark sees a binary oppositional contrast in a photo he captured with feminine glasses in the image.
