‘Sit Like a Lady’ is a protest piece that comes from a personal place of anger regarding gender in society. Seeing a woman sitting with legs apart or ‘manspreading’ has negative connotations; it is perceived as sexual. The work challenges these assumptions, creating new perspectives of women. ‘Sit Like a Lady’ uses ‘manspreading’ as a visual metaphor to revolt against patriarchal stereotypes of women.

The women depicted in ‘Sit Like a Lady’ are friends with a common interest in equity. The body of work was initially shot in the photographic studio. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, however, the production took a different turn: instead of portraying my sitters in the studio, they were asked to take their own photos at home. This remote documentary strategy opened up new conceptual opportunities. ‘Sit Like a Lady’ has created a community of women eager to continue fighting against the patriarchy and gender through remote collaboration.

Emily Bond is a photography graduate of Brighton University. She creates work about the concept of gender. She explores the negative effects on society that gender conventions create and strives to highlight the struggles people face because of it. Her recent work focuses on femininity and what it means to be a woman today.