Untitled (two girls in matching dresses standing on ledge in yard) c. 1940

This photograph, by Paul Gittings, shows two young girls in matching dresses standing on a ledge in a yard. Though undated, the photographic process and the subjects’ clothing suggest it was made in the mid-20th century. The cultural emphasis on conformity during that time, especially for women, is apparent in the girls’ identical outfits and poses. This image, with its staged and somewhat eerie quality, might be seen as a commentary on the social expectations placed on young women, and perhaps more broadly on the pressure to conform in postwar American society. What institutional structures were in place to encourage this behavior? To understand the image more fully, one might research the history of childhood photography and its relationship to social norms, or delve into the cultural history of fashion and gender roles during the mid-20th century in America. Such investigations illuminate the ways in which art both reflects and critiques its social context.