By Talia Lakritz, INSIDER
- Photographer Chris Crisman photographed women working in male-dominated fields.
- Subjects include a firefighter, geologist, and a truck driver.
- Crisman hopes to show that "women's work" is unlimited.
Photographer Chris Crisman had never met a female butcher. When an art buyer mentioned that one of her friends was a butcher based in Philadelphia, he figured it would make a compelling portrait.
He's since met a firefighter, a geologist, a truck driver, and even a taxidermist who excel in fields with skewed gender ratios.
With a photo series called "Women's Work," Crisman features accomplished individuals who prove that sometimes, the right man for the job is a woman.
"Women's Work" began when photographer Chris Crisman met a female butcher in Philadelphia.
"It's been illustrated historically as a male position, and so I thought this was a cool opportunity to photograph a female butcher," he said.
That portrait sparked his photo series highlighting women working in male-dominated fields.
Alison Goldblum is a property developer in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
He spent time on the job with the women he featured in order to watch them in their element.
Mindy Gabriel is a firefighter in Upper Arlington, Ohio.
Then, he photographed them at work.
Nancy Poli is a pig farmer at Stryker Farms in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania.
He described his portrait style as heroic and larger-than-life — an approach that fit the subjects of the series perfectly.
Carol Warn is a leach pad operator at Marigold Mining Company in Valmy, Nevada.
"Everyone in the project had excelled and transcended any sexist B.S.," he said.
Leeann Johnson is a haul truck driver at Round Mountain Gold Mine in Round Mountain, Nevada.
Not all of them wanted to be distinguished as women in their fields, including lobster fisher Sadie Samuels.
Sadie Samuels is a lobster fisher in Rockport, Maine.
Overall, he focused more on their work than their gender.
"I wanted to keep saying, 'You're not a lobsterman, you're a lobsterwoman,' and there was pushback on that," Crisman said. "She was like, 'There's man in the word woman.'"
"When someone, anyone, any gender, is good at what they do, that veil really goes away pretty quickly," he said.
Christina Burris is a brewer and operations manager of St. Benjamin's Brewing in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Crisman hopes to make the series more racially diverse and eventually turn it into a book.
Beth Beverly is ataxidermist in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
He hopes that the photos show how "women's work" can be anything at all.
Mira Nakashima is a designer and woodworker at George Nakashima Woodworking in New Hope, Pennsylvania.
"There should not be any jobs off limits for women, and that's something I believe wholeheartedly," he said.
Kris Alvarez is a senior geologist at Round Mountain Gold Mine in Nevada.
"Gender should not limit or define personal opportunities."
Jordan Ainsworth is a mill operator at Round Mountain Gold Mine in Round Mountain, Nevada.
