"Women with fists": Kickboxers after the fight

Female Fighters series by British photographer Amelia Schaefer, who photographed more than 20 female kickboxers immediately after fights and thereby tried to show the other side of women's lives.

(Total 14 photos)

Source: wonderzine.com

1. “Kickboxing allowed me to understand what hurts and what helps in life. Nothing has had such a gigantic positive impact on my adult life." Odile, kickboxer.

2. Initially my idea was to shoot portraits of women kickboxing right after sparring. I wanted to capture their lively, deep energy and show the audience a different side of women's lives, different from the one that we are all used to seeing on a daily basis.

3. Participants of the Female Fighters project were fighters from British Brighton and its environs. The girls in the pictures are looking directly at the camera, which gives the impression that they require attention. I photographed the heroines, rejecting any attempt at sexualization, and eventually captured the purity of their emotions and the very essence of peace achieved through the ability to control their aggression.

4. The result of the shooting turned out exactly as planned, although usually the original concept undergoes changes in one way or another during the work.

5. Photography is my tool, with the help of which, on the one hand, I explore how people are portrayed by mainstream media, and on the other hand, I try to give a more truthful picture of what is happening.

6. Until the age of 30, I traveled a lot and always tried to somehow fix everything interesting that I see around. It was my way to make sense of the world and express myself.

7. Later, I received a Bachelor of Arts and then a Master's degree while continuing to work in the tourism industry. But in 2010, I gradually moved into photography and since then I have been building a career in this field, simultaneously doing commercial shooting and personal projects.

8. I turned my attention to female fighters because I am interested in exploring the stereotypes associated with women and their roles in society.

9. In addition to portraits, the Female Fighters project includes interviews with each of the girls. In order to additionally provoke viewers to talk or at least think about the stereotypes of the female world, we posted pictures of the heroines in "inappropriate" places for this - next to a lingerie store or opposite a nightclub.

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