Former Canon-Mac student becomes face of viral sexism project
Former Canon-McMillan student Erin Cooper participated in a photo project highlighting everyday sexism.
Erin Cooper, a former Canon-McMillan student who modeled for a photo project that went viral, sits inside a coffee shop in Bridgeville during an interview.
Erin Cooper, a former Canon-McMillan student who modeled for a photo project that went viral, stands inside a coffee shop in Bridgeville during an interview.
Erin Cooper, a former Canon-McMillan student who modeled for a photo project that went viral, stands inside a coffee shop in Bridgeville during an interview.
This photo is part of the viral photo series, labeled “Boundaries,” which shows former Canon-McMillan student Erin Cooper walking down the street in the Strip District of Pittsburgh. The photo represents street harassment.
This photo is part of the viral photo series, “Boundaries,” which shows former Canon-McMillan student Erin Cooper at Tamari in Lawrenceville.
This photo is part of the viral photo series, “Boundaries,” which shows former Canon-McMillan student Erin Cooper.
This photo is part of the viral photo series, “Boundaries,” which shows former Canon-McMillan student Erin Cooper. The photo depicts domestic abuse in a series about subtle sexism.
While mass shootings and brutal rapes are the acts of sexism that make the news, they can start more gently with an unwelcome touch or comment.
That’s why former Canon-McMillan student Erin Cooper and photographer Allaire Bartel wanted to focus on the subtle things – street harassment, male-dominated workplaces and mental abuse – to make an aggressive statement.
”I think that the major instances that are newsworthy are obviously more tragic and more serious, but people can kind of detach themselves from them. You can’t really contextualize it,” Bartel said. “By focusing on the small things, you can make a difference.”
The photo series features Cooper with male hands overstepping their boundaries. The shoots were done in the Pittsburgh area, including a street shoot in the Strip District, a bar shoot at Tamari in Lawrenceville and an office shoot on the North Side.
The images depict how it feels to experience male dominance in everyday situations. In the bar shoot, Cooper sits alone looking for her friend while male hands creep up her thighs.
Bartel said her concept stemmed from a connection to sexism she made after reading a book called “The Tipping Point.” Author Malcolm Gladwell explains how cracking down on small crimes, like graffiti and turnstile hopping, significantly cuts down on violent crime.
One shoot conveying the subtlety of domestic abuse was particularly intense for the models.
A male hand grips Cooper’s neck while she makes eggs. That shoot brought back too many memories for another model who dropped out soon after.
In each photo, Cooper has a blank stare, representing the normalcy and complacency that many women feel when faced with subtle sexism.
The shots were inspired by personal experiences.
”I’ve definitely been through some things that weren’t far off from what was being shown in these photos,” she said.
It is strange for her seeing her photo across the Internet, especially when it conveys something so personal. The project appeared in publications including Al Jazeera, the Huffington Post, BuzzFeed and Cosmopolitan.
While she has done modeling projects before, she is not a professional model.
”It’s strange for me to have all these people looking at me,” Cooper said.
The project went viral after Bartel submitted it to PetaPixel, a photography blog.
”Within an hour of when it was posted, BuzzFeed called me,” she said.
Bartel said she was thinking about gender boundaries after the Santa Barbara shootings in which six people were killed and 14 injured by a man who wrote about hatred for women.
Soon after, “rape culture” became a buzzword. And while Bartel said she thinks the term has been overused since then, it helped her solidify her personal thoughts. That, and a conversation with Cooper about sexism she faced at work, drove her to take a stand with the project.
”It’s now a very public stand, which I hadn’t intended,” she said. “But here we are.”
Although the experience was a whirlwind for both women, it was worth it to them for the response.
”The response we’ve been getting from people who have been touched by the project is just awesome,” Cooper said.
She said she heard from a woman in Pakistan who said she was glad the project is shedding light on aspects of sexism that often go overlooked.
Another woman said the project confirmed a difficult decision she made was the right one.
”Seeing these images made her realize that she had been abused and left her husband for the right reasons,” she said.
The small things were something Cooper used to laugh off. But now she is not afraid to say when she thinks she is being treated unfairly or made to feel uncomfortable.
”I used to cry wondering if I didn’t get a job because of my abilities or because of the way I looked,” she said.
She said she changed her route around her neighborhood daily to avoid street harassment.
”It makes us feel uncomfortable. It makes us feel unsafe at times,” Cooper said.
Bartel said she hopes women will get a sense of solidarity and men will be more aware of their actions.
She is selling prints to benefit the Women’s Center & Shelter of Greater Pittsburgh. In the future, she hopes to hold fundraising events.
Bartel said she does not know where that will go or how big it will get.
But if it goes anything like her photo project, it will be much bigger than she imagines.