Photography and Feminism between the XIX and XX Century : Albums, Diaries and Scrapbooks

This book is about photography and feminism, and how the photographic images contained in albums, scrapbooks and diaries have been used to experiment with practices of resistance to gender stereotypes and prejudices since the second half of the 19th century. The essay begins with examples from scrapbooks created in the mid-19th century by Victorian aristocrats and examines cases of famous early 20th-century artists (Cahun, Höch, Brigman) to demonstrate how the practice of assembling drawings, photographs, poems and writings served as a means for women to convey feminist ideas. In doing so they used photography in dialogue with other languages to create worlds and perspectives that differ from the dominant ones, introducing the element of autobiography and self-writing in a powerful and innovative way. The ideal audience for this essay are students and scholars of contemporary art and the history of photography, but the topics covered will certainly appeal to those interested in feminism and gender studies.