Gender equity in being a photographic subject?

by philg

One of the things that I like to take pictures of is people taking pictures. Now that arguments about gender equity are consuming our society I paid some attention during a recent two-week trip (cruise with mom) to the apparent gender IDs of the photographers and subjects.

First, an astonishingly high percentage of tourists seem to be assembled into heterosexual cisgender couples. Reading the last couple of years of the New York Times led me to believe that same-sex and transgender romance is blossoming worldwide so I’m not sure what accounts for the preponderance of apparently male/female couples wandering around Portugal, the Atlantic islands, and Morocco.

Second, when one member of a couple is taking a picture of the other it is usually the man taking a picture of the woman.

Readers: Do you know of any studies of these phenomenon? I’m wondering if what I observed anecdotally is consistent with data.

9 thoughts on “Gender equity in being a photographic subject?”

  1. On the first question, about the lack of homosexual / transgender people, that’s likely just self-preservation. Large parts of the world, including most of Africa and a lot of the Caribbean, criminalize or publicly shun those lifestyles. Morocco included. A more comprehensive list here:

    https://wikitravel.org/en/Gay_and_lesbian_travel

  2. Several large websites devoted to photography and videography seem to confirm your observations. The content of these sites is overwhelmingly heterosexual cisgender couples, with a small selection of same-sex and transgender romance. And, as you also observed, when one member of a couple is filming another it is usually the man filming. Further data can be gathered at these authoritative websites: porntube, pornhub, xhamster (for science!).

  4. Watch for the signs attached to the corner of your local McDonald’s. Here in the south, where even interracial dating is taboo, a McDonald’s recently attached a large print ad sign featuring a black man and white woman and (by all appearances) a baby that was a product of interracial reproduction. !!!
    If McDonald’s has the gall to run that sign, surely photos of GLBT folk are on the way. And I’d definitely assume the photographer to be a flamer.
    I’d also expect riots to ensue, though. Sad.

  5. First, an astonishingly high percentage of tourists seem to be assembled into heterosexual cisgender couples. Reading the last couple of years of the New York Times led me to believe that same-sex and transgender romance is blossoming worldwide

    This is exactly opposite to what I see on House Hunters and in the NYT’s wedding section.

    Large parts of the world, including most of Africa and a lot of the Caribbean, criminalize or publicly shun those lifestyles.

    Then homosexuals in the US should be plenty greatful to live in a free country under a democratically elected president.

  6. No-one photographs a pile of cash, either. In the supposedly liberal world of millenial Calif*ahans, all the fathers are still hulking masses of blubber & all the mothers are skinny models, the same as 40 years ago.

    Even in San Francisco, gay affection is still rare & only applies to men. Only the 1 mile radius around Castro St. & 1 in 100 couples appear gay. The supposedly more liberal sex never ever shows lesbian affection.

  8. I’ve been reliably informed on more than one occasion (by my wife) that I am a terrible photographer while my wife takes excellent snapshots. (I agree: it is true.) For this reason, it is almost always she that is taking the pictures. She has also complained on more than one occasion that we have lots of pictures of me and relatively few of her. This is symmetric to my own twin complaints that she does not load the dishwasher properly, and also that I somehow end up doing the dishes most of the time.

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