What Binds Us is a series of self-portraits taken in professional settings in which I am veiled with a scold’s bridle.  This medieval device was used to shame and punish women who were deemed gossips, too outspoken, or troublesome. It resembles a metal cage, which would be fastened around a woman’s head with a piece inserted into her mouth, often sharpened or covered with spikes to inflict pain if she attempted to speak. An officer would then lead her around town on a chain so she could be publicly humiliated. This photographic series links the present and the past by bringing the scold’s bridle into contemporary work spaces to create a comparison between medieval ideals and modern societal expectations for women in the workplace.

The entire thesis paper written for this project can be found below.