What Girls Are Made Of: Feminist Photography by Maisie Cousins

Maisie Cousins - what girls are made of - shrimp cocktail - cover

Maisie Cousins is a London-based photographer who makes art that is “hedonistic and self-satisfying.” The themes she explores are femininity, sexuality, and the deconstruction of bodily standards. With titles like “Overgrown” and “What Girls Are Made Of,” Cousins’ series poke fun at gender tropes, replacing passivity and “sugar and spice and everything nice” with slugs, oozing flowers, split-open fruits, and body hair. Close-up, raw, and filled with glee, her empowering portraits and still-lifes relish in the unashamed mess and glory of self-possessed feminine sensuality.

Maisie Cousins - Lick (orchids, daisies, syrup)

Maisie Cousins - what girls are made of

Maisie Cousins - orchids, daisies, syrup - kiwi and flower

Maisie Cousins - flower

Maisie Cousins - what girls are made of 3

Maisie Cousins - forget-me-nots

Maisie Cousins - flower poke

Maisie Cousins - bird of paradise close-up

Maisie Cousins - grass, peonie, bum

Images © Maisie Cousins

Via i-D (VICE)