The Cathcarts
I think for a long time the word feminine didn't make a lot of sense to me. It meant somebody like Audrey Hepburn with a tiny waist smoking a cigarette, but it also meant my mother who I saw as strong except for in her marriage . I was an awkward nerd who wore big glasses and had frizzy hair, and could not in any way relate to the word. Then I went to college and decided I was a feminist! It was a whiplash reaction to a gender ideal I categorized as weak. Boy was I wrong a lot, and still am. I'm not saying I know in the big sense what all those loaded words mean to society, especially when people devote their lives trying to figure it out. But as a woman nearing her 30's, I am more confident with being feminine and being a feminist, and allowing myself and other women to define it for themselves. Watching women become mothers has been an incredible privilege in that sense.
There are women who work, stay home, work from home, don't have kids, etc. They are all so beautiful and all very feminine. I used to think women who stayed home were weak, or weren't feminist, or giving up. I was wrong. As a woman, I hope that I can empower and encourage other women to Do What They Love. Some women don't want to work, and want to stay home to nurse their baby and see them take their first step. And some women want to do that but need to work. And some women have a nanny because they love their job and they think it is in everyone's best interest to pursue their career. And a thousand other situations I do not know. Regardless, the love a woman has for her child is overwhelmingly genuine. Something terribly intimate passes between the gaze of a mother and her baby. There is feminine and fierce devotion, joy and vulnerability, whispered promises and kisses. There is love, beautiful and unashamed.
I don't have any children yet, but Lord willing one day maybe I will. Regardless, I am thankful to be surrounded by such a diverse community of women who are incredibly beautiful and strong. Getting to shoot Lauren, David, and Silas was one a reminder that family is beautiful. They are just the best. And now they have this baby boy named Silas Grey. And they are this awesome family. We are so thankful to know them and to have them in our life.
Jon and I had a blast getting to photograph their family. I love that we got to spend an afternoon telling one family's story.
Sandra.
MAKING MEMORIES