On the street: photographer shoots back
Caroline Tompkins, 22, lives in New York and is a student at the BFA School of Visual Arts. For seven years she works as a freelance photographer.
© Molly MatalonEvery woman knows these situations. We walk down a street and some guy makes a silly spell. As a rule, we ignore the sign-on, not least because we are afraid that the man will be even more intrusive. We take it, some women get used to it, others never do it. But it is a nuisance for most.
Caroline Tompkins is one of those women who did not get used to it. Three years ago, the photographer moved from Ohio to New York, in the Brooklyn district. And had to learn that making street announcements from now on was part of her everyday life. "I can not leave my apartment without hearing any comment about my appearance." Some men just call "Hey Baby" or make a spell about Caroline's clothes. But many comments are also extremely vulgar. "If the men tell me where they want to put their genitals or what sexual act they want to do with me - these are the worst comments for me."
Caroline realizes how these taunts affect her freedom and well-being. And she decides to fight it. The 22-year-old launches the "Hey Baby" project and begins photographing the men who turn it on. As soon as she hears another spell, she pulls the camera, says "I'll take a picture of you now." and pushes.
"It was important to me to take control of the situation myself, these men did not ask me if they could bother me, so I did not ask them if I could take a picture," Caroline told ChroniquesDuVasteMonde. Of course, the men could decide for themselves whether they want to pose, cover their face or run away. "But no matter what they choose, it's clear the moment their behavior has a consequence."
Caroline initially tried talking to the men and telling them how uncomfortable the comments were for them. But that went backwards. The men became more aggressive, trying to humiliate them, saying sentences like "you act as if I raped you." In the meantime, Caroline barely talks to the guy she's photographing. And she makes sure that the photos appear only as a series on their website and not individually, such as in a blog. "I do not want to pay too much attention to these men," she says. "By showing the pictures as a complete work, I neutralize that a bit."
Although some media have already shown Caroline's project, so far none of the photographers have contacted her and demanded the deletion of his image. "To be honest, I'm a bit nervous about that," Caroline admits. But their hope is that these men now think twice before bothering a woman on the street again.
For Caroline, her work has made it easier to deal with street calls. "I simply accepted the harassment for so long because I thought I could not control it myself." By photographing men, they now legitimize themselves and their place in the world. And apparently it hits a nerve with it: Hundreds of other women reported to her on the project to report similar experiences. "These photos have triggered a much bigger and more complicated discussion of street harassment," says Caroline, and that is an important step. "I do not think the issue can be solved by stricter laws, we need a rethink in society, it has to be clear to all that such behavior is unacceptable."
