Here's What Gender Bias in The Photography Community Looks Like

A few weeks ago, I posted a reel to instagram discussing some statistics about gender bias in photography. The community reaction to this reel was disheartening. In this video, I'll read some comments that responded to it, discuss some key themes, and address some specific assumptions and perspectives.
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[@liz.morrigan]

when i read a comment like "it's not misogyny/gender bias/whatever, women just aren't as good as men," i just kinda sit there and try to figure out if it's satire or not. now i'm having to review all their previous comments for context to find out what their actual intent behind that was. i'm lazy, i don't like doing this; guys, please don't make me do work.

[@lukehenderson5097]

Don't spend the time it would take to read my giant comment then, because it boils down to "we all need to do the work."

[@YvonneHansonPhotography]

Haha there were definitely a few where I was like "did he even read this back once before posting it?"

[@arielmixedmedia]

I AM SO HAPPY YOU MADE THIS VIDEO!

[@YvonneHansonPhotography]

Thank you so much for watching!!!

[@lalonso]

The thing with these persons (the comments in the reel) is that they want to keep the status quo. Why? Because we (I am a cis man) benefit from things staying as they are and not changing. So in order to keep things still, of course people will create excuses and rationalize things, it is at best allowing indiference to the mistreatment of others and at worst willingful discrimination. Great video Yvonne.

[@florian_kopr]

thank you so much for this video, i shared it within my little community. you making so many sadly valid points. from my work with female artists In the last 20 years, i can only report that i heard the same frustrating experiences from all of them. i actively support as curator female artist and try to give a positive stage, but i seemyself, when renting locations for exhibitions, the bias against women photographer over and over again. ita endlessly frustrating and i hope we really are on a way to change that in future.

[@YvonneHansonPhotography]

I really appreciate you sharing this video, and helping to support female artists as a curator! It's people in those positions who can make a lot of difference, so thank you for being cognizant of the need !

[@MichaelQC]

Takes a lot of courage to reply to the haters and continue the dialogue that may fall on dead ears. I didn't know about the statistics regarding how many women go into photography and how few make it their full-time career. I am male but I cannot make it a career. It's hard work to market yourself and be creative as a photographer at the same time. Anyone denying anybody else the recognition of their work is probably coming from an angle of sexism, racism, ageism or ableism, or a combination of the factors above.

[@TheoTeseke]

Keep it up! Thank you for the video! Important topic and you have a lot of good points!

[@adamlearnsthings9896]

That’s is a very rational and well thought out argument. It’s not fair and I plan to support people who think so as well and are trying to change that! Screw the haters, we vote with our support.

[@leonhardbokowski81]

"Your voice matters way more than mine in this". Jeez. Never thought about it like that... As a guy watching your videos, it bothers me more and more that everyone on forums are guys. The most upvoted photographers are always men. New channels that get recommended to me are men. I really have to go out of my way to find good photography channels that are run by women! Since I mainly take photos for myself and alone or with friends, I haven't had these experiences in real life, at least not much. Most of my photographer friends are women. I'm pretty young, and especially since I am a guy many of these things are kind of unnoticed by me. Some parts of what you talk about in your videos I already know about or I've seen myself, but it's pretty eye opening having it all laid out like this. Thanks for the great videos, they're all so well researched and planned out.

[@ivanfenenko]

Thanks Yvonne! It's not only a great video about in the context of photography but in general about inequality! ❤

[@exploresouthwest]

The whole reason I'm here watching your videos is your photographs are better than most of the big name photography youtubers out there. The fact you don't have their 200k subscriber reach kind of proves your point. I've gotten tired of some youtuber influencer showing a very mid photograph they're going to add to their portfolio and acting how blessed I am that they describe to me how they took it ("See, the light was coming from behind the subject!" thanks Ansel Adams I didn't notice that...). When on the flipside you're taking gorgeous pictures that make me want to go out and try new things with my own pictures. Anyway all I can do is be one subscriber in ticking up your count a bit higher to try to get you where you deserve. Keep it up because you're right, and try to keep your head up when it's tough. No matter how many negative people comment, we're always with you.

[@YvonneHansonPhotography]

I super appreciate this comment, and honestly it came at a good time for me :) Thanks very much for taking the time, I really appreciate your support and viewership, and I'm really happy to hear that my photos inspire you to try new things! Thats a huge part of my goal here on the internet.

[@asadavis9532]

This was informative and thought provoking. Thank you. Really is a shame that this conversation still needs to be had but I appreciate people brave enough to use their voice to have it.

[@Kdmud]

Just found your channel and this video! Thank you for everything you said, it is needed and so important. The anger and frustration is REAL. I appreciate you telling it like it is! This made my day! ✨🌟

[@YvonneHansonPhotography]

Thank you for watching, and for your interest in the topic! I'm glad it resonates 💕

[@leolake8964]

this video is just brilliant!!!!!! Thank you for making it, thank you for channeling your anger. You nailed it!

[@justin10054]

I really appreciate that you are willing to tackle these topics on your channel. I can't think of another photography channel I watch that would go anywhere near covering controversial topics. You're also much better at articulating the issues than I could ever hope to be. Thank you!

[@YvonneHansonPhotography]

Thank you so much! That means a lot to hear. I think there's a lot more depth to the discussion of photography than we often think at first glance.

[@thrashermosher419]

Excellent video. It's difficult to change people's minds on the internet, but these things need to be said out loud. You're doing important work.

[@hayleyng2873]

Reading these comments ENRAGED ME.

[@stevemphoto]

Just found your channel! Great conversation. You are spot on and loved the way you described how people try to explain things from only their perspective. It reminded me of an interview that James Baldwin had on the Dick Cavett show and debated Paul Wiess on discrimination. Subscribed ;)

[@chronicfish]

I admire you for standing your ground Yvonne! I agree with all the valid point you made. Keep it up! ✊🏼

[@onnoweb]

Thank you for putting this together.

[@teymthebeast]

It is so sad and baffling, every time you witness something like that I feel ashamed that men in general actually keep being this way on a very very wide spectrum. I always keep thinking about their mothers, sisters and partners and wonder how those relationships actually are?! Sorry you have to go through this. As a 17+ years male pro I know how shitty this industry can be and how weird relationships between photographers are. Always has been, always will be. So I cannot even imagine how you are being treated. Really hope societies will one day evolve beyond this shitty state of things. Hope can wind down and recharge after all this. All the best and really enjoy your videos. Not a big commenter, as you might have noticed, but love coming here.

[@MattHooker]

commenting on things on IG is a struggle for me in general 🙁but it's true that simply "not being part of the problem" is not going to help fix the problem.

[@notwart]

Great video. You are right on every level.

[@dansonbrodymusic]

I appreciate posts like this, for largely personal reasons. It gives me a chance to reflect on my own biases. It’s easy to forget the experiences of others in the storm of my own experiences. From a more systemic perspective, I would guess that many have the privilege of ignoring injustice if they are the ones benefiting especially if they have other problems their facing. Those getting defensive are no surprise. They tell on themselves, because it’s not convenient or pleasurable to get called out. On a human nature level relating to this, what keeps me up at night is this. I wonder if power will always take what it will, and the less powerful will always be stuck doing what they must in response. This is a damning way to think about the species, but I wonder if any romantic notions of humanity just perfume the underlying stink.

[@YvonneHansonPhotography]

That last paragraph gets me too. Part of me wants to talk about moving forward and solving systemic issues, and part of me looks at the long train of human history and doubts whether that's actually possible. It's a pessimistic worldview, but hard to shake.

[@thicket23]

Thank you for saying everything I constantly think, I’m so glad the algorithm brought you to me. Camera stores are also very male dominated and in my opinion intimidating, I’m lucky to have a camera store near me with a few women that work there. On another note, in the 90s I went to a fine arts college for printmaking and photography. I ended up in a completely different industry (elementary school teacher) because I could never find any room/profit for me as a creative. I make art for me now, which is fine, but I wanted to be an artist when I grew up. Funny though, I put in overtime as a teacher too. Can’t win for losing I suppose.

[@NPJensen]

I'm not a professional photographer. I work in the energy sector in a department with a female head and more female than male colleagues - one of the few departments within the company where this is true. The level of disrespect I have experienced from say our engineers (95% male) towards my now former department head (she took a better paid job elsewhere in the industry) borders on the unfathomable. They were happy to see her go, but the joke is on them, because we got a new female department head with even stronger qualifications, who is just as hell bent on making the changes within the company we have been tasked with, so the fight continues. Without going into further specifics, I can tell you, that gender bias is still everywhere. I bet in fashion photography - like in so many other industries, it's still the "old boys club" controlling the money, and until that changes, we aren't going to be able to effectively fight gender bias. But we can speak out against it. I hope for you, that you find a way to get the better paying jobs - and get paid the same as your male competition. All the best, keep fighting the good fight!

[@YvonneHansonPhotography]

The old boys club controlling the money is a great way to put it! It's also relevant when we talk about recognition etc. because a lot of the boards making selections for awards, sponsorships, ambassador programs etc. are Boys clubs- so it's unsurprising when their selections are too!

[@Olyvia..]

its an important thing to talk about and its particularly bad in photography, like in chess i feel like the field is seen as run only by individuals, not teams, but they refuse to believe in systematic oppression in favour of a kind of great man theory. the damage Ayn Rand has done to the world by justifying a lot of this with her shitty books

[@chrisvlachopoulos7565]

Thank you for talking about this, Yvonne - I really appreciate the opportunity to learn more about these statistics and how uneven the playing field is. I am not a professional photographer, only someone who appreciates the medium (and fails spectacularly when attempting it), and I am so appreciative of you shining a spotlight on all this: you sharing your experiences, your justified outrage, and the truth about the numbers. Most of all, I really don't want these comments to make up the majority of what you see out there. If that's how it has been so far, I don't want that to continue to be the case. I'm with you, and I do not wish to be silent. Those people don't speak for me. Let's make this conversation another reason why you made it to the very top. Please keep it up - and thank you!

[@YvonneHansonPhotography]

Thank you so much for your comment, and your voice! I super appreciate you taking the time to engage with this topic and video, and I'm glad it shines a spotlight on the issue!

[@Kitsaplorax]

You are right. We need to hear this. Im an amateur alt process photographer and anthropologist working on bronze age jewelry and recreationist shoots. Try finding a woman model from the middle East who is over 40 and not size 4. My women friends are experts in fiber arts, clothing, etc. Most of them are social workers, etc. I listen to them a lot, as they are better artists than I am. I want to shoot with a conscious awareness of my biases and take their critiques seriously.

[@solmare_]

Well damn, that ending was pretty heartbreaking to hear. Why should a male hobbyist photographer's voice matter more than yours? Ooooof. I have a daughter and I'm continually trying to get smart on this sort of topic, but I started watching this with some skepticism and curiosity: "In my experience as a man" (lol jk bear with me) I have seen more femme photogs at events and shows, but you did a great job explaining it Teletubbies-style that speaking from my experiences to compare to someone else's like yours is absolutely ridiculous. This humbled me FO SHO. Thanks for taking time out of your day to educate some men even though it is NOT your job to do so. I had seen a few of your videos up to this point but this one got me to sub. Love it.

[@YvonneHansonPhotography]

Aye this comment means a lot to me! I really appreciate you taking the time to watch and engage with it, and I'm glad I was able to away your perspective on things!

[@Fat-totoro-cat]

As a total outsider to the world of fashion photography, my impression is that the industry (in the west at least) has a real stench of a kind of hyper masculinity. I admit that its not an area of photography that really interests me all that much, and after watching your video I cant help thinking that one of the reasons for that IS the lack of diversity and different perspectives!

[@JaseFilm]

Thank you for putting them on blast. Do you think that comment sections just bring out more of the extreme opinions, or do you think they're indicative of more broader opinions? I tend to think that people with more valid or rational criticism of these kinds of topics shy away from the comments out of fear of being painted a misogynist. So instead of opening a useful discussion or talking about the stats/facts, the ignorant and hateful comments are the ones that overwhelm and saturate.

[@YvonneHansonPhotography]

Its an interesting question- I think that the fact that these guys comment from their professional accounts tells me they don't realize that what they're saying is actually hateful. A lot of them hedge their commentary with platitudes as though that will soften the blow of the misogyny in the middle. It comes off very "cosplaying the middle ground" imo.

[@remylherault8292]

that was really well explained

[@CalebThomasMedia]

This video is so fucking important.

[@lefttrunleft]

Hi Yvonne, Sorry to hear that you're struggling with 14 hour days to make ends meet. I couldn't do what you do. Keep being awesome! ❤ In solidarity, Tim

[@chrisbone7149]

Brava, and thank you!

[@jameslenney]

Great video. I think sexism is so strange because it makes no sense, and this is what gets people confused and they aren’t as interested in the stats.

[@malfunction5448]

"oh to live in this man's delusion" is a fabulous quote

[@fsxaircanada01]

Thank you for speaking up and calling these bigots out!

[@josefinemuller5351]

I feel you.

[@juneinblack]

I always saw myself as a very empathetic person when it came to understanding the plight of women in the arts, and the effect of misogyny on their careers. But then I transitioned, and am living IN it as a femme presenting working professional creative, yeesh... I truly didn't understand how deep the misogyny rabbit hole went until it actually, directly was pointed at me. If more men could just listen to women, and believe women when they complain about this stuff, maybe it would actually go away. And then hey, we could also stop talking about it! Everybody wins!

[@YvonneHansonPhotography]

This is such a valuable perspective, and I really appreciate you sharing! I can imagine it must be a bit jarring to learn about it in theory before experiencing it in practice, but having that basis for comparison would be really enlightening.

[@Mamotreco]

conscious or unconscious ... it's disheartening to see sexism, gender bias and prejudice be so widespread nowadays

[@albarca5084]

I don't know if it's the case in north america, but here in france, FB groups are riddled with boomer photographers who would personally punch you in the guts if they detect the smell of lomography in your camera. When I started film photography, I spent much time on those groups, since analog was still very niche, there were not much places where to discuss, ask questions, compare photos in french. One day I stumbled upon a comment about having an assistant for a certain procedure. Some old purist dude showed up in the coments and gave advice. He was known around to be an erudite photographer, but also to be one hell of a patronising, smug douchebag. But this time his comments were... A lot. Again, this is france and for some reason, most of nouns are gendered. And this guy SPECIFICALLY advised to have a female assistant. When asked why, the dude genuinely, unironically explained his theories about biological strengths and weakness that are not the same between women and men, and framed his bullshit as facts and common sense. Like what he said boiled down to "women biologically have a slightly better perception on the color spectrum, therefore an assistant in photography has to be a female assistant". This pseudosicence shit is literally the same stuff that praising women's "maternal instinct" to justify locking them at home/in the kitchen, while framing the whole thing as a compliment and awareness of men's inadequacies. Everyone on the group knows that guy is a freak, and every time he pulls his nonsense everyone makes fun of him while he stays ready to die on his hill. But he hasn't been kicked out yet. Everyone is like "bah, he's too old/dense to be educated, and he'll die from covid in few years anyway". Sorry if it was a bit long and if the english is kinda broken, but to see that this 19th century pseudoscientific nonsence can still exist (among more average misoginy) in photography stunned me. By the way, I wanted to thank you sincerely for all your work about sociological matters in photography. Besides talking about photography itslef, you really do an insane job on discussing classism, sexist tropes and bias, and MY GOD this is so cool and so needed. It's a shame that so few photographers take time to reflect on these subjetcs, but your work is more important and more compelling for it. All this to say than though this has to take a lot of effort and time besides photography to work on these videos, it is really, REALLY appreciated, and it helps to make things change. That was way too damn long, but I suppose it's harsh to be a public figure on the internet with all this harrassment/mean comments, so I hope some positive comment woudl help. Many thanks, and keep up!

[@YvonneHansonPhotography]

Ugh that guy sounds like some of the guys I know on the local photography groups! Frustrating that they don't get kicked out, especially when their behaviour is so blatant!

[@YvonneHansonPhotography]

Thank you also for taking the time to watch some of my deeper content! I put a lot of effort into some of these videos and it's nice to see that folks appreciate them!

[@AuroraBateman]

Yvonne for president!

[@lukehenderson5097]

I came here for the photography, I stayed for the intersectiomal dialectics. I've noticed that too many of my hobbies over the last decade have been monoculture... Women and PoC are not demographically represented in so many third places. There's an implied barrier to entry for anyone from an "out group" when they see the wall of middle aged white men.... Do we assume that they're going to feel comfortable regularly attending a photo walk, a cycling event, an environmental action group, or real ale festival full of people who, while enjoying this one shared interest apparently have little in common...??? Or are they going to feel otherised, tokenised and gatekept away from enjoying the things that others in their socioeconomic bloc do...??? it's self perpetuating and it won't change unless we support these groups being integrated. Like you said at the end, our voices have disproportionate value because we're in the group that's already dominant, but for society and art to grow we need those outside perspectives.It's the same issue a lot of people are going to find with corporate work... " this is our brand, don't colour outside of the lines, but be creative, don't make it look too cookie cutter either..." Unless there was a voice like yours in the room when they decided on The Golden Arches, your artistry is always going to be limited by those who were.

[@YvonneHansonPhotography]

Yes you make a great point about the third places! In photography, there are a lot of social spaces but I feel uncomfortable participating because I am frequently "model-ized", ie. Everyone has cameras and I am a young woman, therefore I am the model and not the photographer. It's a frustrating and recurring dynamic that is very Othering.

[@aaronlabarre501]

I think a lot of these people have blinders on. It's so easy to say do your best show up and you'll succeed when you are the default privileged class. Being a professional photographer is hard even if you are in that class so it's hard to admit you have a distinct baseless advantage when you've seen struggle and made it through it. Like so many social issues, it so easy to convince yourself they aren't real if they aren't affecting you. Similar to drug abuse and homelessness in that way. It's wild that there are more female photographers and less professional ones. My mind goes to how people are taught in the US culturally. We don't expect or guide women into starting a business or make targeted resources for them, it's very much pointed at men. Big LOL at the "it's not sexism, it's [the most sexist statement imaginable]" like dude if you're gonna be sexist take the label and be semi self aware.

[@pauls1ngh]

Misandrists deny misandry. Misogynists deny misogyny. They feed off of each other. Algorithms reward ragebait. Add a bit of ignorance & a lack of systems thinking & here we are. I don’t like dystopia & authoritarianism. But, in aggregate, society isn’t self aware & responsible enough for freedom. Individual & collective self awareness take time Yvonne. Please don’t take every word at face value & get disheartened. Most people are running on default settings/autopilot. You can only meet people at the level they have met themselves. You are a great soul ❤️🤝 Start a syndicate of female photogs. Create a SYSTEM. Be bold & visionary. Study the Old Boys Clubs & copy them. Structure it. Get financing from BlackRock’s DEI funding schemes. Meritocracy & equality of opportunity won’t come to you. But you can put it in place for future female creatives.

[@jim.bennett]

🔥🔥🔥

[@PeterBarnes-infinite8horizon]

So, I'm four months late to this because I've only recently discovered you on Instagram, but I'd still like to comment as an ally and a male voice. Yes, I agree wholeheartedly, unless and until the males actively fighting sexism, racism, patriarchy and so on outnumber and out "argue" the unconsciously entitled *holes in your comments, it's still an uphill fight. As an old, white, straight, first-world, amateur-photographer male, in one sense I'm uniquely unqualified to comment, but other than not being a professional photographer I'm also drawn from exactly the pool most of those *holes were dredged from, and I'm just here to tip the scales my teeny amount. Yes, your pointing this out is exactly "what you're going to do about it" as though the person pointing out a culture-wide systemic problem is somehow forbidden to speak unless they can single-handedly solve it (just reiterating your point, I know), and my thanks and support for doing that, coherently, eloquently, in fact unarguably. but as you point out how much better still if it had come from a man. Seven years ago I wrote a short essay on a very similar topic. In this case, patriarchal violence against women, but we know that all these problems intersect and they're nearly all rooted in men. WE are the problem, and without our active change, there can't be a solution. infinite8horizon.wordpress.com/2017/10/18/ustoo/ (Normally I read comments before I add my own, since often as not what I want to say has already been said, better, but this time i haven't because I simply want to stand up and be counted. Thanks Yvonne! I also really enjoyed your essay on "genuine" images (on which I've also blogged, sigh) and it's a delight to find a photographic channel that isn't just gear, or just technique, or stunning images, because while they all interest me I'm even more delighted to find someone who engages with social and philosophical aspects of the art (and business) as well)

[@Ezzie0304]

You have a point, inaction from men (all for equal rights) compounds the problem. It gives a certain validity to these (quite frankly) disgusting medieval views.

[@MrShanePhoto]

Like you I expected it to be more unconscious bias. The comments are wild. Something I've only experienced from older photographers back when i was an apprentice. (nearly 20 years ago). I've heard quips and the odd comment these days that would boil down to a particular guy being a d*ck. But I really didn't expect this level of attitude from young current professional photographers. Photography has always been a boys club. I think the bias in terms of success sadly comes from consumers as in agents, clients and bookers. They just expect a photographer to be a man. Either conscious or unconscious. But to out right say women just aren't good enough is insane and makes no sense. And of course men and women approach their work differently. But that's more to do with taste, interest in subjects and to do with life experience. We all experience life differently but not enough to be able to say one gender is better than the other at photography 😂. Our differences are our strength.

[@Giles29]

The hate is bizarre to me - most of the professional photographers that I have met are women. I can't say the same for everyone but their pictures are better than mine.

[@MysteryManBob]

I'm set up so comfortably in my music scene shooting gigs that I've never had to interact or network with these types. I always found the larger community of career photographers to be kind of obnoxious and artless, but I never knew how easily these armchair culture war reddit goons could make careers out of themselves, especially with these manosphere debate-pervert stances on gender and politics. I gotta say it is pretty rich to see how sagaciously these goons view themselves and their work, especially the ones who bank their whole careers off of ultra fast prime lenses and plugins to make up for lack of intent

[@DanGilman]

ACKTUALLY... The comment sections are, as expected... flaming hot garbage. I don't see how anyone could see just standing on an apple crate and shouting these kind of comments, much less from their professional account.

[@FluffyMonoc]

"I'm not *-ist, I'm just right" - every bigot ever I guess. It's disappointing though to see how pervasive this unwillingness to even listen and reflect seems to be in photography. As a software dev I would love to say I don't know what you're talking about, but it's not that different I guess. Also as a trans person it's interesting (and embarrassing), looking back at things I even used to believe myself, maybe 10-15 years ago. (Also thanks for acknowledging transphobia as just another form of sexism/misogyny.)

[@dankspangle]

You have to talk about it because otherwise privileged old white men like me would stay ignorant. I don't see it or feel it. I need it pointed out to me.

[@dmjohn65]

Keep on 'ranting' A lot of people don't like to hear the uncomfortable truth! 🙂💢

[@fenixlolnope361]

girls rule boys drool OwO

[@peteraxelsson5207]

It is an ugly stereotype, the male as the expert on technical stuff, and the female as the silent beauty . Following demonstration of film or gear on KZbin, I react when the clip ends with the male photographer/expert brings his female model out for a photo session. The symbolism gets even uglier, since the gear is supposed to give you control over the object, sharpness, colours, contrast, depth of field and so on. The male controlling the female.

[@MikeLikesChannel]

It varies. My wife can take photos of babies and random people’s kids at the playground… as a man I cannot. However, I can walk around the city at 3AM taking photos, as a woman she cannot - *at least not safely.* Sexism is very real.

[@RicoTheBard]

@ 2:30 - thats disgusting

[@neeravnaik]

Pretty ignorant takes from these men. Or maybe not so ignorant given they want to justify the unfairness and feel good about it. Being better etc. doesn’t make sense for a subjective art like photography. After a level everyone is good in different ways and then people should ideally choose photographers based on a diversity of taste. I see a lot of these men doing same type of work and agencies would do much better by being more diverse in hiring photographers. Some of my favourite photographers are women. Recently Andalucia tourism in Spain called over a set of photographers and there were hardly any women in that. But I think Taylor Pendleton did one of the best work on that assignment and you could see see put a lot more effort than many others.

[@Bennie32831]

Perspectives aren't Truth

[@tekoppentekoppen761]

You reminds me of Bjórk.

[@AdrianBacon]

"Am I working hard enough yet?" - I am not interested in being put on blast, and almost just didn't say a darn thing as a result. You talk a lot about a lot of very valid points, many of which reflect your experience, which is totally fine, but... watching through this video... You verbalize a lot of things that seem to be a little lacking in knowledge of the reality of what the typical male experience in this field is. Do you really think the majority of us guys in this field are just raking in the dough? The majority of high earners are men, but are not the majority of men working in the field. Yes, there tends to be gender bias. I don't know if I'd go so far as to call it Misogyny as it's currently officially defined, but yes, guys do tend to be more successful and get picked over women, and that is reflected in a lot of the lists that you show in the video... but... at the same time, for every one of those successful guys on those lists, there is a multitude of other people, many of which are male that just like you, also got passed over, also leaving them asking the proverbial "Am I working hard enough yet?" that you yourself ask in this video, so while I don't disagree with much of what you're saying here, I also am left scratching my head, because while there are lists of very successful photographers, and yes, it'd be nice if there were more women on those lists, at the same time, those lists are not really representative of the typical male experience in this field. The vast majority of us guys get passed over on paid work all the time and are left asking many of the same "Am I working hard enough yet?, how do I step it up?" type of questions that you yourself have verbalized. So dare I say it, I'm not entirely sure everything you're experiencing is all due to sexism or misogyny. I'm sure that plays into it, but its also possible it could just be the typical experience, no matter who you are. There are a relatively small number of very successful photographers, and a very large number of other photographers that are trying to be successful. That is reality. As a guy, I don't operate on the belief that at some point if I work hard enough I deserve the same success as those on the lists, because for me, as a guy, that just simply is not reality. It never has been, and never will be because it doesn't work that way. I am where I am due to the work I did or didn't put in. As a guy, if I'm barely making it, that means I need to step it up. If I can't step it up, then that means I do something else for money. Plain and Simple. It doesn't matter whether or not I like it. That's the reality. Nobody in this field is ever going to give me a break because I'm working hard and think I deserve it. I've been a working photographer for quite a while, and that has never happened, and I don't expect it to. The reality for the majority of people (male and female) in this field is lots of long hours and hard work, only to barely be getting by, which is much of what you're experiencing. I'm not sure why you would be expecting anything different than that. But what do I know? How dare I say anything at all? I'm a guy. Most of the time, my opinion on this sort of matter doesn't matter because I'm a guy. I exist in a world where most of the time if I say anything about this topic I run the very real risk of being put on blast and/or canceled, especially if what I say doesn't line up with whatever the narrative is, which gives me a lot of incentive to just shut up and go to work.

[@raquelferreirinha]

Clearly the “incentive to just shut up and go to work” has not been sufficient. While Yvonne has rightly not dignified you with an answer, I will take one for the team. And never before have I felt compelled enough to use all caps, but here goes: SHE IS NOT TALKING ABOUT HERSELF ONLY. Yvonne does not have to be “the one” who makes it onto “the lists”, but said lists cannot be populated by white men only. Why is this so hard to understand? I’d suggest rewatching the video.

[@JessHobbs]

If you're scared of being "blasted" or "cancelled" when you comment publicly, you need to sit with that and figure out why.

[@AdrianBacon]

@@raquelferreirinha "SHE IS NOT TALKING ABOUT HERSELF ONLY." -- I didn't assume she was, and totally acknowledged that there is sexism that happens in my comment. I guess you missed that part. I don't have an answer for how to address it, but did point out that a lot of what she verbalized is pretty common for most people that work in this industry, regardless of who you are. The reasons for that could be due to sexism, or any number of other issues, so if it were me, I wouldn't be so quick to just blame it on one thing. As a result, my position doesn't totally line up with the narrative of the video. I'm commenting because she does rightly point things out, and it's important to have dialog about it from all angles, not just the angle of the narrative.

[@AdrianBacon]

@@JessHobbs I know exactly why. It's because it doesn't blindly applaud whatever the narrative is, even though it could be acknowledging the narrative, but also pointing out other plausible things in an attempt to have any kind of dialog around it. I'd say dialog from all angles could be useful. What usually happens is it gets dismissed or put on blast because many just want to see the narrative and anything that isn't effectively a "good on you!" doesn't count. Actually read my comment. I totally acknowledge that sexism happens, but also made other points that could play into it. It'd be nice if a discussion could happen.

[@Bennie32831]

99% of bricklayers are men fight for that

[@solmare_]

lol what?

[@hayleyng2873]

Explain how this is related