Lou O’ Bedlam’s Friday Feature: Corie Howell

By Lou Noble on October 23rd, 2009

• Tweet
• Link to StumbleUpon
• 3 Comments

Recently read a book on boxing by Katherine Dunn. In it she uses several chapters to describe and promote the idea of female boxers.

Which I dug. The idea that women contain within them violence and strength equal to men. That the idea of women being weaker is a socialized idea passed down for generations, but that given the chance, and the training, they can be just as, if not more, brutal than men.

And that this, as an idea, as a concept, is okay.

It’s okay for women to be strong. To be violent. To be aggressive. That marginalizing such tendencies re-enforces societal roles.

Perhaps I respond to it because I was raised by a strong woman who basically raised me all by herself, and as such was forced to assume roles more commonly associated with men. And not just in terms of being the provider, but in being an aggressive protector and advocate for her child. And that she didn’t, in the doing, become any less a woman. It wasn’t about assuming a masculine role, merely a dominant role.

It just so happened, as I was reading the book, thinking about these ideas, I was re-examining my work, looking for new ideas. And this one took hold. Showing women as strong, moving, if subtly, away from shooting women as attractive people, but rather as strong people. Less of the come hither look, more of the relaxed and confident posture.

Maybe I’m the only one who’ll notice it, but it’s got me excited, excited to see if I can express it adequately.

Which brings me to Corie. Shot her just last week, the new ideas in my head. She was the third woman I’d photographed with these intentions in mind, but I quickly realized, once we’d started shooting, that this wouldn’t quite work.

Because she already exuded that strength I was looking for. I was expecting to have to give some direction, some guidance, get her in the mental space for it. I’d already directed the other two models to punch me. Repeatedly. Hard. Change the energy of the shoot, get them amped up, relaxed, excited at the idea of being able to punch me. Shift the sense of power.

And she did it, cackled and giggled all the while. But as I watched and photographed, I realized she was the kind of model I needed right then, someone confident, assertive, unabashed.

So I just kept shooting, tried directing a little less than I usually did. And damned if we didn’t end up with some fine pictures.

Which was the point of all this in the first place, yeah?