© Amy Stein 2002
An interesting discussion about my Women and Guns series is taking place on the bulletin board, TheHighRoad.org. The site says that it is "dedicated to the discussion and advancement of responsible firearms ownership." Ignoring the thread about the quality of the photos (they kick ass, thank you), the members of The High Road can't seem to decide if the photos are anti-gun. Do you see a bias in the photos or is their debate and confusion a product of our current red vs. blue, with-us-or-against-us social discourse?Labels: Women and Guns
6 Comments:
Amy, I’ve always seen the project more in terms of what it says about women than what it says about guns. But maybe that’s just because, when I approach the project, I’m more interested in the former than I am the latter. It’s a safe bet that the people at TheHighRoad.org are more into Second Amendment issues than I am, and some of them may be more interested in guns than in the experiences of women. So they’re approaching the photos with a different set of priorities. And I’m guessing that’s why they’re interested in trying to discern your feelings about gun control, whereas I’m more interested in looking at what the photos say about women living in a culture where guns are part of the landscape in a way that they weren’t and aren’t for me. I don’t see a bias in the photos, but I’m not looking for one.
My first thought was, "of course they're saying something against guns." And then I went back and looked again. Now I'm not so sure.
When I started college in Colorado, I remember the students from the East Coast were shocked and appalled to find a sporting goods store three blocks from campus brazenly selling rifles and handguns. For a Westerner like me, it was no big deal. So, I imagine for those unaccustomed to common presence of firearms, some of those photos are like the records of a Martian anthropologist, incomprehsible and frightening. Teaching you daughter to shoot? Child abuse!
And there is a socio-economic element to the work, too, as most of the subjects appear to be lower class, so I can imagine the stereotypical self-righteous Left-coaster pitying these poor ignorant folks who don't know any better. They need to be protected from themselves, and us from them!
Am I betraying my biases here?
Todd --
I think betraying your biases is pretty evolved. Everyone should kick the tires on their ideology from time to time.
For the record, the woman sitting at the table in the picture above is a physicist and the man is a vinter at a winery. Stereotypes are a bitch.
Amy
Ps. You are in Queens, right? We need to grab a taco under the 7 train some time.
Liz --
The resident photographer on the High Road site has his own ideas about guns and the experiences of women.
Amy
It there a special taco place under the 7 train? On the subject of 'kicking the tires on ones ideology' and gun rights - did you catch the article on the cover of the Sunday Times? A Liberal Case for the Individual Right to Own Guns Helps Sway the Federal Judiciary very interesting and relevant. as for tacos and 7 trains I don't know anything about that but I think I am going to try to go up to ny next friday for the lecture at icp. anyone going? who is down for something after?
I find your photographs beautiful and provocative.
I'm a regular firearms user, which in the UK is a minority hobby, but we don't really have any pro-gun lobby. We're more about getting on with our hobby and generally keeping quiet about it so as not to worry the neighbours. We're very anti-gun crime though. None of this is much use to you of course.
I think having such a polarised pair of views as you do in your society the US viewer will make what they want of your art. But whatever that might be it's not inherent in your photography, and that very lack of evident bias is part of the charm of your work. It's a documentary recording rather than a judgement.
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