I first saw Dulce Pinzón’s “Superheroes” photography series (online, via Tumblr) right around the same time as Dina Goldstein’s “Fallen Princesses” series (also via Tumblr). The coincidence served as an interesting juxtaposition, as they both feature costumes embodying (very gendered, western) fantasies in order to challenge common perceptions. They work in opposite ways, however: Pinzón’s superheroes serve to use the fantasy to highlight and uplift the heroic work of Mexican Immigrants (each photo is accompanied by text stating the subject’s job and how much money he or she sends home to Mexico per month) — the costumes serve as metaphors for the hard, often unseen work that each does. Goldstein’s princesses, however, are using what are to be understood as real life settings in place of the fairy tale ones, challenging the happy ending each myth peddles (however unevenly — Princess Jasmine’s war-zone “real life” is unrealistically outlandish). Seen in tandem, the photo series comment on the power of the fantasy (and the fantasy’s costume) to sell us notions of power, gender roles, and other social conventions.
Posted by bespangled
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