For the past few years, photographer Hannah Price has taken a stand against men who catcall her along the streets of Philadelphia. Rather than accepting herself in a place of defenselessness when men ogle her, she decided to turn those feelings back on her tormentors by photographing them unexpectedly in reaction to their inappropriate behavior.
The series, entitled City of Brotherly Love, includes portraits that, alone, are striking images of urban men. However, within the context of the catcalling, viewers may begin to feel a sense of unease at the leering, lingering gazes. The project is the African-Mexican-American artist’s exploration of how to handle harassment and fight back in a positive way. Included in the series are several photographs with no people, which represents the way Price “wants to be approached”–with a sense of fair-minded neutrality.
She explains, “Just turning the photograph on [the catcallers] kind of gives them a feel of what it’s like to be in a vulnerable position–it’s just a different dynamic. But it’s just another way of dealing with the experience, of trying to understand it.”
