This project was my senior capstone thesis, if you will, as an Art Major at Wheaton College. Years later, the statement I wrote still resonates with me:

As an athlete on a collegiate women's tennis team, I often wondered how my identity as a women co-exists with my identity as an athlete. These photographs explore this question.

Female athletes navigate challenges while training that are uniquely female but framed by the language of all athletes. Should I be benching more, how much cardio do I really need, is it ok to run at night? Women athletes have the same capacity for strength training as male athletes regardless of race, religion, sexuality, or body type, and are capable of much more than they are taught to believe.

Most female athletes develop their muscle structure to enhance performance. They bench press so they can throw further and hit harder--not just to look better. Many have an elegance that is uniquely feminine, but an athlete's decided femininity (or masculinity) or genetically prescribed curves are second to her strength.

The subjects of these photographs are women who train as hard as their male teammates with the same goal of reaching peak physical performance. Their bodies, individual and singular, are not for consumption by the male gaze and do not exist only to be sexualized. While this work does not attempt to speak for all female athletes, these portraits seek to represent strength, poise, and dedication.

In the world:

• Beard and Weil Galleries, Wheaton College, MA May 2015

• “Who’s Afraid of Feminism?” A.I.R. Gallery, Brooklyn, NY. August, 2015.

• NYPH Exhibition The Last Picture Show, Brooklyn, NY & Abroad