Women have long been criticized for the way in which they aesthetically present themselves. I know every gender identity has their own standards, but beauty standards for women have a long history rooted in patriarchy.
In short, the beauty standards culturally set for women often have to do with the male gaze — how a woman looks should be for someone else. However, over the years, we've been learning to try and undo that and reclaim the meaning of beauty for ourselves.
She created a portrait series called Epidermis, arguably one of her most powerful photo series.
Accompanying the photos are snippets of what the women think and how they feel about their skin.
It has certainly been a journey for her, and she understands it's the same for many others.
"When it comes to acne and how we view it, there seems to be a lot of misconceptions and stigmas underpinning the conversation," she expressed in an interview with i-D.
Sophie explained that the traditional beauty editorial style of the shoot was purposeful, working to insert and assert her models in a space that they're traditionally excluded from.
"[T]hat was daunting enough for them and most of them were unfamiliar with being in front of the camera," she recounted.
"Skin positivity is about embracing all skin types and actually saying you don’t have to have a certain type of skin to be beautiful."
Be sure to check out Sophie's other work on her website.
