I think the gender norms of emotion are horrendous. Being masculine means showing zero emotions, but having the choice to be angry or depressed. Being female means you are one dimensional - if you show more than that, you are a psycho, hysterical, or historically, a witch.

Petra Collins

Categorized in : You Think Angry Gender

With any medium you are working in, technical skills obviously help, but your mind is what you really need to expand. That is how you create work. That's the role of the artist - to change the way you view things.

Petra Collins

skills artist views

I think anytime you can share images that make young women feel a sense of belonging when they might not be feeling their best or their strongest is so cool.

Petra Collins

feelings might thinking

We [photographers] have the tools and the power to create images - we should try to make them as truthful as possible.

Petra Collins

photographer tools trying

You don't have to wait for anyone's approval to do things. You don't have to try to get a job and go through set steps before you start a career or start your life. That's what I want young girls to know - you can do anything you want. Just start.

Petra Collins

careers girl jobs

It's one thing when you are photographing others, but when you are exposing yourself and your insecurities, that's the biggest risk. That's always scary.

Petra Collins

insecurity risk scary

With feminism social media just opened up its boundaries even more. Now all these different tribes of women can connect with each other, and also find each other if they're not living in the same city, or even if they are but they're not friends with the same people!

Petra Collins

media cities people

To me, the point of feminism is to be inclusive.

Petra Collins

feminism

If a guy can't handle your crazy pictures, he's probably not someone you want in your life.

Petra Collins

guy crazy want

Girls are taught to be so afraid to take up any "space," even with their own bodies, and hair is a part of that. I'm glad to not be a part of that!

Petra Collins

girl space hair

I used to hate my hair. Now I love it. I spend hours brushing my hair out after it dries. I love it when it's big.

Petra Collins

hours hate hair

I feel like fashion is becoming more inclusive, partly because the industry is finally getting that beauty exists in so many ways, and partly because thanks to Instagram, girls can create their own images, or remix images they're seeing in magazines and fashion shows, in ways that weren't possible before.

Petra Collins

magazines fashion girl

What's cool is when people send me messages or tag me in their photos, which definitely happens more after a project comes out. The best part, I think, is that the DMs and tags are always from young girls, and reaching them is the most important thing for me.

Petra Collins

girl people thinking

Even if I'm not so into the specific celebrities who are sharing images of themselves looking "bad," I think it's an amazing contribution to the conversations about beauty that we have online.

Petra Collins

online conversation thinking

If a guy can't handle your natural hair, he's weak. Why waste time on someone like that?

Petra Collins

waste guy hair

My style motto is pretty classic: you give off a positive energy when you wear what you're most comfortable in.

Petra Collins

you motto style positive

I've always been fascinated by the desert.

Petra Collins

been always fascinated desert

For me, art doesn't stop at the gallery space.

Petra Collins

stop me space art

I'm very lucky that I'm not a photographer for hire - people hire me for me. I go into every commercial work with an art focus, with that lens; every brand I've worked for just lets me do whatever I want to do. I have full creative freedom.

Petra Collins

me freedom work art

I'm either working or I'm lying in bed the entire day.

Petra Collins

either day bed lying

Women's emotions are constantly labeled. Any slight deviation from 'pleasantness,' and we are labeled as hysterical. When we are angry, sad, depressed, or manic, we are immediately seen as unfeminine or ugly or weak.

Petra Collins

angry ugly women sad