Featured Artist: Rachel Papo

"Rather than portraying the soldier as heroic, confident, or proud, my images disclose a complexity of emotions."

Every artist says this. It has become a cliche.

Seems to me that almost everything there is to say and show about soldiers has been said and shown.

These women, btw, are not "plucked out of her environment at an age when sexual, educational, and family values are at their highest exploration point."

This is another cliche.

People at 18 don't just sit around and contemplate their "sexuality." This is what so called artists, think they do. At 18 people look forward to make a place for themselves in society and to live the rest of their lives. Some even contemplate marriage and starting a family, but I suppose an "artiste" wouldn't understand that.  

as an israeli soldier myself, serving at the intelligence corps (cant tell you what i do exactly though, it's sort of classified), i have to say i disagree. i dont know how long you havent been in israel, and how much you talked with girls my age who currently serve, but i can tell you that everyone i know, im talking about female soldiers-and i know plenty- is more than happy to be there! ands my job isnt easy. i study must of the day, i sleep with 8 other girls in my room, ive no privacy, and i come home every other weekend. but, and this is a very big but, i know ims erving my country, and this thought alone makes me want to be there despite the difficulties. besides, its such a big experience; i feel im more mature, i feel im not a girl and im not that much dependednt on my parents.

yes, of course, the army is very, umm, "masculine", but it still gives you the freedom to find out who you really are and explore new sides about yourself. youre not the same you were after those two years are over- and in a goodway i can tell you that.

in short, im more tahn happy to serve my israel, and personally, it gives me a lot.

Danielle

there are a few facebook groups dedicated to photos of IDF women - i think it's a FETTISH?

Search for

CHAYALOT are CHATICHOT! and others!

A Playboy spread or even a calendar seems like it would have been a better idea.

 grrrrr.....

A liberal "artist" claims that women in the Israeli military are somehow being oppressed by the chauvinistic army hierarchy preventing them from their womanhood. Wow, how tragic!!

Of course, maybe we could actually ASK THE SOLDIERS if they feel depressed, oppressed, and held down? As someone who has served in both the Israeli and US military- I think I can comfortably state that there are in fact MILLIONS of both men and women who serve out of patriotic reasons, they may desire a challenge,  or to better themselves in numerous ways. Of course, if one were to accept this premise that women in the military are strong patriots rather than victims, that would go against the entire liberal narrative.

From what I have seen of the series, I love it. Yes the work is created under a specific concept but I don't see how that takes away from the pieces' success. And correct me if I'm wrong, but the artist never stated that these women shouldn't be serving their country. She simply stated that they are, and to pretend that Israeli men and women grow up the same as the rest of the world would be completely contrived. My Israeli friends would agree with me, there is a difference. I don't believe Rachel is trying to place judgement on that difference, but simply documenting its existence. 

 As for the comments about fetishism of the piece: if all you get from these photographs is porn, then you have clearly missed the point. Not to mention missing the work of many other photographers, specifically in the past decade, who deal with the topic of female adolescence. An example could be the book "Girl Culture", whose cover includes more nudity than the images shown here or the others that I have seen. To claim that photographs that include women in uniform are simply smut then it is your own fetish to work out. (Playboy would probably be insulted if they knew they were being associated with such clothed women...)

 Lastly, a question for the previous and future posters- do you remember your 18-20 years as being breezy and without struggle, confusion, awkwardness or sexual desire? Yes? Then I believe you are the first of mankind and should be studied for scientific research. 

Thanks, this is a wonderful series.

I really enjoyed your series of photographs. I think it is important to shin light on the work women are doing in the IDF, but also to remember that they assume a lot of the same responsibilities as the men, and when they are in the army there not many differences between sexes. I also liked more of the candid photos rather than the posed ones. But I did love the series!

I was a (male) soldier like everybody else.

and... I really agree with the photographer.

I would guess about 75% of the girls I know feel that the army wasted their time.

girls are many times shocked by the system

true, some are forged by the flames. but not all girls should go through this!

thousands of girls sit in over crouded offices (too many soldiers for too little work) doing some semi-biurocratic work. getting bored. some even getting mentally abused by an inconsiderate system.

many American parents would consider their 18 year old daughter a "child"

how can this young women stand out in the crowd? she can't. many just wait until the end miserably.

Girls should not be made to join the army!

Every soldier in any army in any country is killing machine…not human…

Female soldiers r no exception…especially those in the Israeli “Defense” army…

A soldier is an artist absolute opposite …

I wonder what would my fellow feminists say about such photographs!...I mean feminism is about empowering women., but not with M16’s…

Viva la revolution!

It is strange how even the commandant of belsen bought his children chocolate.

You can either take great hope in that there is a germ of good in the greatest monsters, or despair that even in the greatest of saints, there is a canker of evil.

These women believe me can kill in an instant. They are trained quite well and are probably the best women soldiers that walk the earth! They have no equals period.

There are a few things that make me wince about the reasoning of this abstraction.

The fact that females in Israel are oriented into a traditionally masculine environment (the military) really does not matter, the socially conditioned line between males and females should be blurred and I would applaud the idea of NOT recognizing someone in the army as "out of place" or "vulnerable" based on their gender.

The one thought that popped into my head as I looked at these pictures is that it reminded me about how war and national security mechanisms have become forms of doing (essentially) volunteer service for the "public good." The thing is, I could never support my country in this way because it is my strong belief that war is never a public good, even in self-defense, it only engenders simulations of reality, of tainting people you've never met as an "ally" or "enemy."

There are a few things that make me wince about the reasoning of this abstraction. 

The fact that females in Israel are oriented into a traditionally masculine environment (the military) really does not matter, the socially conditioned line between males and females should be blurred and I would applaud the idea of NOT recognizing someone in the army as "out of place" or "vulnerable" based on their gender.

 The one thought that popped into my head as I looked at these pictures is that it reminded me about how war and national security mechanisms have become forms of doing (essentially) volunteer service for the "public good."  The thing is, I could never support my country in this way because it is my strong belief that war is never a public good, even in self-defense, it only engenders simulations of reality, of tainting people you've never met as an "ally" or "enemy."

J'adore cette série ...

Il faut savoir regarder au delà de la situation actuelle ...

Cette série est pleine de douceur et d'une candeur qui doit tout je pense à l'œil de l'artiste ...

Un travail qui me touche ...

Félicitations ...

I've taken it upon myself to translate Shadowcat's comment:

I adore this series...

He has to look at the real situation ...

This series is plainly done by a douchebag and a candid one at that, who, I think, is an oily artist ...

I touch myself to this art ...

Congratulations ...