Gender and Diversity Perspectives in Photo History

Early Perspectives: 1800s - Early 1900s

The perspective of female photographers was often largely absent from the historical narrative of photography. Women were not just models but also professionals behind the camera.
Julia Margaret Cameron and Anna Atkins are examples of early female photographers who made significant contributions to the medium.
Photography was used to create orientalist images of non-Western cultures, often stereotyping and exoticising subjects. This form of photography was called ethnographic photography.

Margaret Bourke-White and Dorothea Lange were influential female photographers during the mid-century, capturing impactful images of the Great Depression and Second World War.
The Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s saw a rise in documentary photography aimed at exposing racial injustice and advocating for social change. Photographers like Gordon Parks captured striking images reflecting the reality of racial inequality.
The use of photography to challenge and highlight gender norms started gaining momentum in this era. Cindy Sherman used her self-portraits to interrogate stereotypical representations of femininity.

From the 1980s onwards, photography has been increasingly used to question gender and racial stereotypes. For example, Annie Leibovitz created images featuring powerful and influential women in non-stereotypical roles.
In the late 20th-century, photographers like Robert Mapplethorpe and Catherine Opie used their work to explore and expose the nature of gay and queer identities, challenging norms about gender and sexuality.
Diversity in photographic representation, reflecting a wide range of races, ethnicities, genders and body types, started gaining traction.

The movement towards diverse representation continues in contemporary photographic practice. Photographers like Zanele Muholi use their work to document and make visible the lives of marginalised communities.
The rise of social media and digital platforms has democratised photography, opening it to varied identities and perspectives more than ever before.
However, ongoing debates about the appropriation, tokenism and gaze in photography, reflect the complexities involved in achieving truly diverse and inclusive representation.