This is my proposal:

Subject/Slant: I am focusing on the self-image of Duke girls, but I want to do it with a more positive slant by having girls say what they love about themselves. I know that Duke girls can have problems with self-image and feelings of not measuring up to the expectations of Duke culture or standards of effortless perfection, but I think it’s also important to acknowledge the awesome and unique aspects of the Duke female population.

Format: I will be using Wix.com. I really like sites like this because they’ll allow for a gallery-like format that is perfect for my photo-based project. I’ll be able to have a page of information about the digital essay, perhaps a page of the history of Duke female culture and image issues (where I could use the 2002-03 Women’s Initiative and hopefully interviews from different females on campus), but then also a gallery page with photos of Duke girls holding signs that say “I love my…” (where they get to fill in their favorite quality about themselves, be it something physical, a particular skill, or something more related to their personality). My aim is to show that women at Duke are multi-faceted and strong, even with their image struggles.

Materials: My research will be mostly based on photographs of willing participants. My goal is to get a large number of girls willing to let me take one photo of them holding a sign with the answer they have filled in. I also intend to use texts from the Women’s Initiative as well as interviews, both from the past and from my own doing, of women on campus.

Questions: I really need a good name for the project, which I have been struggling with, so I’m open to any ideas for that. Otherwise, any recommendations or suggestions or tips of any sort are welcome!