Lebanese-American photographer Rania Matar addresses this idea with her latest book "L'Enfant-Femme".
Four years in the making, "L'Enfant-Femme" contains hundreds of photographs, shot entirely on medium format film, featuring young girls between the ages of 8 and 13 .
Born and raised in Lebanon, Matar studied architecture at the American University of Beirut, before migrating to the U.S. during the 1982 Israeli invasion.
Following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, Matar noticed that most of the media in the U.S. coming from the Middle East was negative – focusing largely on the differences between the Western and Arab world.
The idea for "L'Enfant-Femme" grew in Matar's mind while she was working on her second project, "A Girl in Her Room".
The photos, similarly posed, are serious, with the subjects seldom smiling.
"L'Enfant-Femme" opens with an introduction by Jordan's Queen Noor, who Matar had met previously in the U.S. After tracking her down, she agreed immediately to help with the project.
Rania Matar's "L'Enfant Femme" is published by Damiani Editore and can be purchased at Mar Mikhael's Papercup bookstore, or online at http://www.raniamatar.com/books/lenfant-femme/
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