Feminism in Photography

Abstract

Abstract Feminism has challenged beliefs where there are prevailing inequalities between men and women. In Saudi Arabia, where women are considered secondclass citizens, photography is an explorable field when it comes to representation of both sexes. This study sought to determine the profile of the Filipino photographers professionally practicing photography in Riyadh along gender, age, highest educational attainment, and schools/institution where trainings are acquired; examine the gap between the percentage of female and male photographerrespondents based on gender; analyze the significance of gender in the enthusiasm of the respondents; identify the factors that affect the level of engagement in photography of the female and male photographers in Riyadh; and propose recommendations to enhance the integration of principles of feminism in photography. Findings show that 70. 83% of the respondents were female photographers. It was also found that 58.33 % of the respondents were 18-34 years old, 87.5% attained tertiary education and 33.3% acquired trainings in photography in COMSOFIL. Findings show that there is a huge gap of 41.67% between the female and male photographers. Respondents also agree on the perceived significance of gender in the practice of photography with a grand mean of 3.27. It only implies that the respondents recognize the roles and relevance of gender in their engagement in photography. A grand mean of 3.55 shows that the respondents agreed on the factors Feminism in Photography that affect the level of engagement in photography. With the foregoing findings, it was concluded that the profile of the respondents is varied, more females are involved in photography, gender is significant in the practice of photography. The level of engagement in photography is affected by several factors and gender representation, fresh perspective in their approach to a specific theme, collaboration with peers and clients, familiarity of context, marketing and networking themselves to increase income, and learning new techniques are ways to enhance their level of engagement in photography.