Image Analysis

This image was taken by Habiba Nowrose in a project to show the challenging beauty standards that women face in Bangladesh. The images suggests that women often lose their true identity whilst trying to match these standards. This is suggested by the fact that in the photo, the face of the woman is not show, whilst the concentration on the person is focused on the colourful background, as well as the woman's hair and accessory. This also fits in with what the photographer expressed, which was that "we become anonymous even to ourselves and our identities remain concealed". This has been portrayed by the fact that the person is anonymous as we do not know their name or what their face looks like. In addition to this, the focus is on the outer beauty. This suggests a loss of inner self as the women have made great effort to appear beautiful on the outside.

Furthermore, the use of cropping creates a claustrophobic feeling to the image, almost as if the women show in it feels trapped and restricted by these standards. Also, it may suggest the pressure that women feel to meet this standards and to look a particular way. This can link to the use of vibrant colour in the picture which could connotes the expectations that are expected. Moreover, the use of flowers in the mise- en- scene connotes femininity as flowers are typically associated with this.