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| A woman stands on a street corner wearing only a barrel in a stock photo about financial destitution. |
Financial Hardship
Women suffering financial hardship is nothing new and an
important challenge for our society to address. The reasons behind women
finding themselves in financial hardship are many…divorce, discrimination, medical
adversity and more. But how do we visually show such challenges for women…and
actually, for men as well?
An Iconic Symbol Of Financial Ruin
An iconic symbol of financial ruin and destitution is that
of a person wearing only a barrel held up by suspenders. That image comes from
the days of the great depression, but still gets its message across quickly and
clearly. Putting a woman into that barrel creates a stock photo of financial
adversity for women that is clearly and powerfully stated, but also adds an
element of humor that can make the message just a tad more palatable, more
memorable and more effective.
It was with the above in mind that my partner, Stephanie D.
Roeser, created this stock image of financial hardship…a woman wearing nothing
but a barrel as she stands on the street corner of a large city. By having her
standing at a corner she introduced the idea of choice and by having the
setting be a city she introduces the element of business into the image.
Hitting Rock Bottom Financially
While it is natural to tie this image to women’s issues, it
can also apply to men as well. In fact, anybody who has hit rock bottom
financially can be represented by this “woman wearing only a barrel” stock
photo. The idea of a person
wearing only a barrel with suspenders first became an iconic symbol in the
1930s when numerous cartoonists used that visual to represent bankruptcy and
destitution.
From Post Divorce Poverty To Tax Ramifications
Stephanie created the image with ample copy space for
including headlines and text. Because the image has a ton of potential uses for
everything from post –divorce poverty to challenges for women in the workplace
to tax ramifications, she felt it best to put the image into the Royalty Free
collection with Getty Images.
