Abstract

Fantasy Exchange is a visual and written examination of the perpetuation of violence against women and the influence it has on the performance of femininity within structural patriarchy. After briefly working with the Rochester Police Department in Rochester, New York, I found myself incredibly struck by the everyday violence that I was made to watch people endure. During my time there, I made note of everything I witnessed and noticed the way that women's pain always seemed to have such a profound impact on me. Through image and text, this body of work explores visual metaphors of abuse found in everyday life using self-portraiture and performance. Through the process of building this body of work, I examine my own tendency to alter my performance of femininity in order to keep my own self-fantasy alive. Among these images are photographs of a woman discovering herself in a new landscape free from the hyper-sexualization of the feminine nude in which one can explore their body without the constraint of performance for the male gaze.

Library of Congress Subject Headings

Photography of the nude; Self-portraits; Femininity in art; Body image in art; Violence in art

Publication Date

5-5-2025

Document Type

Thesis

Student Type

Graduate

Degree Name

Photography and Related Media (MFA)

Department, Program, or Center

Photographic Arts and Sciences, School of

College

College of Art and Design

Advisor

Joshua Thorson

Advisor/Committee Member

Catherine Zuromskis

Advisor/Committee Member

Greg Hayes

Campus

RIT – Main Campus

Plan Codes

IMGART-MFA

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