"Somewhere, between reality shows like Real World and The Hills, we've forgotten what "real" is. We've forgotten that teenage girls are real people. With real hopes. With real dreams. Real fears. Real issues. We forget just how innocent 15 is. And we forget how complex 15 is." - Kate Engelbrecht, 2010.
This project was born out of Kate Engelbrecht's personal curiosity about contemporary teenage girl life. In early 2007, the author reached out to teenage girls across the United States and invited them to participate in a photography project called "The Girl Project". To date roughly 2,500 girls have received disposable Kodak cameras and a third have come back. Here is how it works: Girls, ages 13-18, contact Engelbrecht by email and request a camera. Each girl has 27 frames to shoot anything about herself and her life that she wants to portray. The cameras are returned undeveloped, along with an optional questionnaire.
The book features a selection of handwritten texts and intimate photographs taken by over 150 teenage girls from a diverse range of backgrounds - urban, suburban and rural areas from across the U.S.A. The girls have contributed personal and private moments and expressions along with writings, which together reveal an amazingand narrative on modern female adolescence. Presenting an insiders view of teenage girlhood. Touching upon universal issues such as struggles with self-confidence andbody image, relationships with peers and family, their dissatisfaction with how they are presented by the media and in popular culture as well as empowering, positive revelations of their hopes and dreams for the future.
Presented in the form of a colourful 'scrapbook' specifically designed to appeal to a youthful audience.
