Hands on the buttocks, infantilizing looks, glass ceilings and children who they have to deal with too much alone by confronting prejudices: a study commissioned by the LaPartDesFemmes collective, unveiled exclusively by 20 Minutes , takes stock of the careers of women photographers.
Directed by the independent sociologist and photographer Irène Jonas, author in particular of Family photography, a sexual practice? , the study of more than 80 pages focuses on the combatants' journey of these women, who appear as "more heavily penalized than their male counterparts both in terms of recognition and income". According to figures from the Ministry of Culture, men photographers thus earn 40% more than their sisters, who earn around 1,000 euros per month.
"We no longer took the elevator with him"
In the testimonies of the 25 female photographers interviewed, first of all, what sociologist calls "frontal" sexism is expressed: attitudes and words "directly perceived as violent, which surprise people". It is "when an art critic asks to meet me, that I come with all my portfolios and that after half an hour he takes my hand and tells me that his hotel is next," says Moon.
It can also take the form of sexual assault: "At one point in my life I worked for a daily newspaper, I still talk about it with the secretary of the person in question, and we wonder how we could have accepted that . We no longer took the elevator with him because each time it was from the hands to the buttocks, ”said a woman.
The street, hostile but impossible to avoid
Besides this sexism coming from the professionals they meet, women photographers are also exposed to street sexism, which in their case, takes on a more acute dimension, because the street is very often their privileged place of work. This sexism experienced by all women in the world painfully hinders their profession.
"I don't like to take pictures by myself, when you're a woman you can't be in the street like that to look at, but to be a photographer you have to be in the street, not moving and looking, and for a woman is impossible, ”recounts one of these numerous testimonies, the anonymity of which has been preserved.
"Lead Sky"
Like journalists, they are often confined to gendered domains. "Travel and the art of living" for one of the women interviewed, rather than politics or economics.
Women photographers also know the famous "glass ceiling", also called in a very colorful way "lead sky" by the sociologist. According to Irène Jonas, it is formed "by the accumulation of discrimination": "Small differences at the start translate into large differences after several years of career".
Matthew effect
This gap is then multiplied by what is called the "Matthew effect": "The more we are exposed, the more we are identifiable, the more we have prizes, the more we participate in festivals, the more we are asked to present your work or evaluate that of others, the more you get published, the more recognition and "value" you get. ”
One of the study's interests is also to demonstrate very precisely, through these interviews, to what extent having children makes women photographers “disappear”. It is often through the eyes of their clients or interlocutors that they become aware of it: "I know your work but at some point you disappeared", said for example one day an employee of an agency at the one of the 25 photographers interviewed in this study.
Having children is seen as a drag
Especially since women photographers who choose to have children do not have as easy access to maternity leave as other professions. For those who receive copyright, the ratio between the gain and the energy deployed seems derisory: "I had 15 euros per day for two and a half months and it was a big hassle to get this amount, I had to get the money in January and they paid it to me from the end of April, ”says one. "I had a sum, but so ridiculous, I mean, it was a quarter of what I earned ...", explains another.
Having children is seen as a barrier, so that, unlike the sexist cliché that plays against them, 55% of female photographers have children compared to 76% of male photographers. And even for these, the outside world remains harsh, explains the sociologist: "The social gaze focused on" selfish "women is not very helpful. If they devote themselves to photography, it is because they neglect their children and if they make children their priority, it is because they do not have photography pegged to the body. "
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