Loading...
Representations of Women in London’s Public Spaces: A Photojournalism Series Exploring the Reinforcement of Societal Inequalities in Gendered Landscapes
Crum, Caitlyn
Crum, Caitlyn
Abstract
Description
The purpose of this project is to evaluate the link between women’s underrepresentation in London’s monuments and gender inequality and to create a digital campaign to raise awareness about this issue. My project uses mixed methodology to contribute to this discussion by reviewing scholarly work on gender inequality, the history of feminism, and the significance of monuments in the United Kingdom. Although many communities have begun to discuss the relationship between monuments and systemic racism, previous research about how monuments reinforce gender inequality is limited. However, a 2021 audit found that only 50 of London’s 1,500 monuments (4%) depict named women. This is significant because monuments communicate a society’s values, identity, and history. Therefore, the underrepresentation of women in London’s monuments reflects a consistent undervaluing of women’s contributions throughout the city’s nearly 2,000-year-old history which is reinforcing implicit attitudes and contributing to the endurance of gender inequalities. Because monuments are in the public sphere, raising awareness of how they perpetuate inequalities is of great importance. Therefore, this project also uses solution-oriented photojournalism and fourth-wave feminism to share my findings via a digital campaign titled “The Important Women Project" to expand the impact of my research, encourage broader discussions about how women are represented in public spaces, and to promote gender equality by calling for increased representation of women in monuments.
Date
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Wyoming. Libraries
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Journal Issue
Keywords
Monuments,United Kingdom,Gender equality,Photojournalism,London,International Studies,Feminism,Social Media Campaign