Charleston Cain

The male gaze dominates a woman’s life in almost every aspect making daily life a more difficult thing to grasp. Societal standards have forced women into cages. It’s time to understand the struggles of everyday life for a feminine being and how the male gaze impedes it. I created these works with the idea of the male gaze and what it looks like metaphorically. These images are to help you understand where a woman may feel trapped by societal norms. I took inspiration from stories like ‘Lolita’ and focused on the way I see a woman’s stereotypical place in society. My idea is to make the viewer just uncomfortable enough to want to look out for any feminine-identifying individual. That way we can work towards stomping the stereotypes.

Charleston Cain is an emerging artist currently working on her BFA, Photography, at the Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, GA. Her biggest passions are about feminine energy and the struggles of trying to be feminine in the contemporary world. Charleston focuses on issues she experiences first-hand to hold authenticity to her work as well as using it to heal. There are tons of metaphors at play here and her humor can strike in some of the darkest images she makes. Her work truly portrays the conundrum that she is.