“Women and their Maids: A Photographic Levelling” is a photography project by Justine Graham and Ruby Rumié that takes a feminist approach to understanding the relationship between two different groups of women. By making these women appear to look “identical” (Lisa) in their photographs, the project tries to challenge economic and cultural hierarchies in which maids are regarded as socially inferior to their employers.
On one hand, I like this project because it makes an effort to promote equality between women. It also makes viewers wonder who is the employer and who is the maid, which highlights other racial and cultural stereotypes upon which viewers might also rely. On the other hand, however, I have some reservations about this project because it risks suggesting, firstly, that all of these women actually are the same, and, secondly, that one photograph can effectively level out the economic, cultural, and racial differences between each pair of women.
The photographers assume that these photos capture the “openness” and “pride” of the maids, as a report by Daniela Estrada quotes; however, while the photos might appear to promote female equality through representing sameness, what happens afterwards when these women return “home” to their prior labour relationship? They may appear the same here, but each maid is likely feeling something quite different from what the photographers—and her employer—might assume. Power, status, and privilege go far beyond the appearances that can be shown in one photograph, and the representation of “sameness” here seems to come at the expense of acknowledging these women’s actual lived differences as well.
While this project attempts to promote social change through representing equality, I believe that, ultimately, it ignores the fact of both white and economic privilege and alleviates what Shelby Steele describes in her podcast interview with Pamela Monk as “white guilt.” In my view, these photos encourage white viewers to believe that these women share a greater degree of similarity and equality than they actually do. This project makes me wonder how the employers and maids first responded to being asked to participate in this project, and how their responses might have been different. Would printing interviews of the maids alongside their photographs make this project more successful in achieving its anti-hierarchical feminism goals, because it would then acknowledge the value of both equality and difference?
Works Cited
Lisa. “Women and their Maids: A Photographic Levelling.” Sociological Images. 13 July, 2010. Web. 10 Sept. 2010.
Estrada, Daniela. “Latin America: Photos a Leveller for Maids and Their Employers.” Global Issues. Thursday, June 17th. Web. 10 Sept. 2010
Steele, Shelby. “A World of Difference; White Guilt.” World Of Difference. WPSU. Web Podcast. 10 Sept. 2010.
