Stern Women

Photographing at a Jewish Orthodox women’s college (Stern College, part of Yeshiva University) is a little different. My account executive at the design firm called me just as I was going onto my first meeting. "Don’t reach out your hand for a handshake!" he wanted to warn me. "Don’t worry, I know all about that," I told him. Women and men do not touch in this tradtion. Later on, when a woman adminstrator thrust out her hand and I hesitated, she approached me later to apologize for any offense. I’m passing as something here, but it’s unclear what.

The elevator, twice, was jammed full of women. It was class change. I was not about to cram myself in there. I said to my minder, "It’s just six floors, let’s hoof it." She answered, "I’ve been going to the gym, let’s go." There was suddenly a competitive air between us. I took the stairs two at a time, carrying the gear, and hung back for her at the landings. Not bad, considering I’m twice her age.

There is Orthodoxy and there is Orthodoxy. My guide was of the more feminist persuasion, and was delighted at my orange on the sedar plate story. She was the raging extrovert type I like to have as a guide on a campus. She seemed not typical for this campus.

"Nooo, don’t photograph me!!! I can’t stand cameras!!!!" she screeched. This became something of a refrain, very early. Typically, I chat a bit, and the social stigma of being singled out by me dissolves. Not here. Some women were truly discomforted, and I had to learn quickly that no means no. It’s not uniform, of course,and about a quarter of the students have no issue around it at all. But, taking photos in the cafeteria made me feel like a serial sniper. They were all but leaping under the tables.

"What’s going on," I asked my guide. "There this impression in Orthodoxy that modesty means not being seen," she said. She had a cogent rebuttal to that stand, but I think my problem is truly cultural. And I just have to work around it. I’m very interested to see what the difference is on the men’s campus.

I’ve been wondering if the salient fact is that I’m male. Here’s why it may not be. One dorm had the most beautiful garden terrace I’d ever seen in a college. "Hindy, can you populate this for me?" She roamed the hallways of the dorm, then came down, defeated. "This is hard!" she cried. We rounded up using the two unfortunates in the lounges, including one woman who at first demurred because she was wearing jeans. After some thought, she approached me and said, "Please, show me in my jeans."

Her language was actually quite a bit stronger. There is Orthodoxy, and then there is the reaction to Orthodoxy.

Comments

its not that it is immodest to have ones picture taken, it's more than many stern girls (myself included) have had our pictures hung in places, such as on the boys campus or in the middle of thirty fourth street, that are very public and unnecessary publicity. There are many other ways to publicise than to hang our pictures up and say "These girls are stern." We have no interest in being poster girls and being recognised for our appearances, which tends to happpen in american society, as the majority of advertisements show - in most cases a girl had nothing to do with buying a car however many car advertisements portray beautifl women. We would rather be portrayed by our achievements, hang pictures of the awards we've won, events run, clubs created, and differences we make in society on an everyday basis. Focus on our purposes and ambitions, not our appearances. If that were what generally happened with the pictures in stern, the women, or at least I, would be a lot more comfortable with having a camera around.

[Doug Plummer]

I appreciate your position, and it is one I am sympathetic toward. In this case, on this shoot, I felt I was caught in a cultural conflict, needing to perform my work for my client, Stern College, and having difficulties that were unprecedented at other single sex colleges I have photographed.

If you look at the final product of this shoot, the Stern Viewbook, it shows Stern women in precisely the fashion you wish was more generally the case in society: as accomplished, intellectual strivers and achievers with a deep sense of purpose.