Summary of this Project!

Hi indiegogo-ers! My name is John Bee, I've been photographing people and wildlife for the past decade. Connecting with the subjects in my photographs is one of the most important parts of my role as a photographer. Through these connections, I have made many friends, learned a lot about people, and noticed a very common theme of negative body-image among many people. The vulva is one of the most common body parts that the women I've met are insecure about. 

So I've set out to create a photoraphic e-book dedicated to the beauty of the vulva in all of its forms. 

As a photographer, I feel a strong sense of responsibility to portray people in a realistic manner. I strive to never create material that will produce or reinforce unrealistic body image, especially among young people. I want to help promote body positivism through all of my work. As a photoshop user, and as a lover of photographs, I've seen far too many obviously-edited photos. There is a particularly alarming amount of digital editing that goes into altering the appearance of the vulva in many commercially produced images.

This project is an effort to speak out against the increasing occurrences of young women choosing to alter the appearance of their labia via destructive plastic surgery, and to challenge the norm of unnecessary digital editing of vulvas. Both of these are serving to warp our ideas of what women's bodies should and do look like in real life, and damage the confidence and body image of far too many women.

I will be interviewing 100 women to to produce this e-book about vulvas. I'll be asking them: what your feelings are about your vulva and its appearance; what aspects of its appearance have you been insecure about (if any), and what do you like about its appearance; how those feelings have changed over time; what you think contributed to those feelings (images, pornography, partners, etc); anything about the process of learning to love your genitalia unconditionally (if you have yet); and how you think your feelings about your vulva and body in general have affected your confidence and other aspects of your life.

I am producing a typology of collected photographs of womens' vulvas along with these collected ideas, sentiments and messages from the participants, and will guide the viewer through a conversation about body-positivism and love. 

Let's be honest: every vulva is different and beautiful - so join the Vulvalution with me, and let's help provide a voice against destructive plastic surgery and unnecessary photo-editing!

What We Need

Within 24 hours of announcing my project to friends and colleagues on Facebook and ModelMayhem, I am proud to have found  25% of my goal of 100 participants. With this in mind, I expect to have no trouble finding 100 people who want to share their thoughts and be photographed for this project. 

Asking people to take their time to share their intimate thoughts and insecurities (and their vulvas) with the world isn't easy! So I've resolved to provide a free copy of the e-book, a free photoshoot from me, and a cash stipend to each participant to compensate them for their time and courage. 

With 100 participants, I expect the cost of paying these stipends to exhaust my entire funding goal of $5000. I will be shooting out of a space that I already rent, and with gear and equipment I already own, so the only true expense is the payment of participants. In other words - I'm not here for a free camera. I care about this cause both as an artist and as a loving human being!

In the event that funding falls short of the goal, the project will still go forward, as I can reduce the number of participants to save on costs. 

Sales proceeds from this project will contribute to maintaining a free web-resource dedicated to the project and to women coping with body-image issues. I will be sourcing written work as well as drawn and photographic art to share on the site to provide an ongoing voice for this cause after the e-book is completed.

What You Get

The basic contribution is a $10 pre-order of the e-book. It will contain the sentiments, ideas, insecurities, insights (as well as the vulvas) of 100 brave and beautiful women. C'mon, that's only 10 cents per woman - what a deal!!!

For those going beyond the basic contribution, you will receive a pre-order of the e-book, and full-resolution images of your choice (the number of images varies by contribution level).

At the highest level of contribution, you will receive a business logo on the first page, a producer credit on the verso of the first page, full-resolution copies of every image in the book, as well as an ad section for your business contact information and a 30 word tag or slogan.

You can also book photoshoots with me to help fund this project!

The Impact

This project will provide a strong voice for the advancement of positive body-image. It is a call for photographers and artists to acknowledge the harmful nature of over-editing images of people. Most of all, it is a message to women that there are as many types of vulvas as there are women in the world, and the diversity makes each one more beautiful, not less! 

If you're made it this far, I want to sincerely thank you for taking the time to read my message. This project is very important to me and I intend to continue to make body-positive typologies and help promote body-positivism for as long as I can hold a camera. Thank you so much for helping me to make this message heard by as many as possible!

How Else Can You Help? So Glad You Asked!

Please share this project with anyone you believe could benefit from hearing about it! The very first aim is to help people cope with and eventually overcome negative body-image. Whether or not you have a vulva, I want this message to reach you and help you feel good and feel loved! 

Please also share via Indiegogo's share tools, on Facebook, Twitter, even tell your parents!