The Bigger Picture

Abstract

Employing a multiple method triangulation strategy and adapting Stuart Hall’s encoding/decoding model as a theoretical framework, this study used the World Press Photo Awards (WPPA) as a sample to empirically assess the extent to which gender influences the production, representation and reception of conflict images. The study examined whether women photojournalists are gaining increasing recognition, and gauged whether there are discernible gendered differences in the semiotics of conflict photographs. The image sample was then presented to focus groups in three countries to evaluate gendered decoding practices, followed by interviews with seven women WPPA winners to examine gender in relation to encoding practices, and their gendered experiences when photographing subjects in conflict zones. Findings suggest that the gradual increase in the numbers of women photographers may account for the shift toward “aftermath” imagery, but that a complex assimilatory process has wrought an intersection between traditionally “feminine” and “masculine” tropes. Women are still under-represented in photojournalism, and, while not wishing to be defined by gender, they have a sense of “doing things differently”; in gaining access unique to the world of women, women photographers have intimate access to subjects which would otherwise remain under-represented.

KEYWORDS:

• conflict
• encoding/decoding
• feminism
• gender
• photography
• semiotics
• war

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors would like to thank the seven photojournalists who kindly participated in the interviews, as well the focus group participants who volunteered their time. The authors would also like to thank the World Press Photo Foundation for their support.

DISCLOSURE STATEMENT

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1 This article is based on a dissertation completed as part of the Erasmus Mundus MA in Journalism, Media and Globalisation at Aarhus University in Denmark and Swansea University in the United Kingdom. It was submitted by Westcott Campbell and supervised by Critcher.

2 The original seven images included were: Maggie Steber (1987) Spot News 1st , Diana Walker (1991) People in the News 1st, Wendy Sue Lamm (1998) Spot News 1st, Nina Berman (2007) Portraits 1st, Rina Castelnuovo (2010) General News 3rd, Jodi Bieber (2011) WPP Photo of the Year , Carolyn Cole (2004) People in the News 2nd.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by an Erasmus Mundus Scholarship from the European Commission.