THERE’S A MYTH THAT SURROUNDS WOMEN,
A MYTH THAT EMBROILS THEM:
WOMEN WHO DRESS OR BEHAVE SUGGESTIVELY,
WOMEN WHO ARE PLAYFUL OR WHO ACT PROVOCATIVELY,
WOMEN WHO FLIRT OR OPENLY DISCUSS SEX – THEY’RE ‘ASKING FOR IT’.
IT’S AN INSIDIOUS FABLE, AND IT NEEDS TO STOP.
EVERY WOMAN HAS A RIGHT TO FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION.
NO WOMAN DESERVES TO BE RAPED FOR IT.
NO ONE SHOULD BE ABLE TO BLAME RAPE ON A SHORT SKIRT.
A SHORT SKIRT CAN’T TALK – A SHORT SKIRT CAN’T SAY ‘YES’.
THE ONLY YES SHOULD BE AN ACTIVE AND EMBODIED 'YES!'
#THISDOESNTMEANYES was a campaign started without an agency.
Behind it is myself and 3 other kick-ass women (Lydia Pang, Abigail Bergstrom and Karlie McCulloch), a production team from Creative Blood and our photographer Perou.
I have never been more proud of a piece of work.
On April 11th we took to the streets of London with world-renowned photographer, PEROU, and Rape Crisis South London. We wanted to start a very real and pertinent conversation around what constitutes as sexual consent.
PEROU photographed women who were chosen at random in a pop-up street studio, capturing and empowering each individual in a composition that each felt natural to them.
Our aim: to show, through photography, that no matter what a woman is wearing, she is never ‘asking for it’ and the mentality ‘she wants it’.
The campaign was covered in 23 worldwide and has even made it into a school Social Studies text-book. We regularly participate in panels and at talks. Notably we've spoken at The Clear Lines Festival, hosted by Dr. Nina Burrows and The London Feminism Conference. We have also been invited to participate in a sex study at Kings College London. Oh and we also met with HRH, Duchess of Cornwall to talk about the work we have done for Rape Crisis UK.
We shot almost 200 women. Each one incredibly beautiful in their own way. Below are just a few of my favourites.