In honor of International Woman's Day, our challenge this week was simply, "woman."  I was looking forward to the many many different ways people could interpret this challenge and I was not disappointed.  I have heard a lot of people say this was a tough challenge and I wonder why.  Why should it be so hard for us to take a picture that encompasses the idea of "woman?" For many of us, a simple selfie would do.  But then, that's assigning us a certain power, right?  A claim to be "woman" and not just "woman" which we obviously are, but, a claim to be strong and worthy of such a title. And we ARE strong and worthy.  If too shy and unnerved to take a selfie, we could snap an image of what makes us FEEL like a woman.  Motherhood? Our jobs? A face mask? Nail polish? Make-up? No make-up? (That last one was done by one member and I applaud that image greatly).  What about our muscles? Hair? Breasts? Lack of Breasts? Cancer survival? While I don't THINK we have any trans-gender members of the community (yet -- we welcome you and anyone else... come play!), that would be an amazing exploration as well.  Captivating too.  We do have one very gorgeous man in drag in our gallery - can you find him?  (Psst, to see more of him and more - go see La Cage Aux Folles at The Company Theatre! And I don't get any benefit for giving a shout out; I just love my friend and can't wait to see him!).  I digress.  Maybe we'll do a re-do of this challenge in a few months and see if people feel less threatened by it.  Because it deserves your attention.  Just like all women do.  It's a bummer that this was the least attended week.  Step up Ladies!  Roar with me! #irisheyeswomanI'm also adding a second gallery since some people did the hashtag #irisheyeswomen (as in plural). #irisheyeswomenWell - only one person's image shows up right now but I know there are more.  Remember, images posted to private accounts don't show up in the round-up galleries.You can click on any image to see additional descriptions if you'd like. If you participated and you don't see your image included, check your hashtags (#irisheyeswoman most importantly), or, if you want to be included in the gallery, make sure your profile is public.  You don't HAVE to have a public profile to partake in the challenge, but you do have to have a public profile if you want the image to show up in the gallery. Be sure to check in on the Group Page to find out next week's challenge!

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Irish Eyes Photography's Community Challenge started on January 17th, 2018.  Here are the weekly challenges this far:

• Week 1: Gratitude
• Week 2: Winter
• Week 3: Red
• Week 4: Light
• Week 5: Yum
• Week 6: Safety
• Week 7: Soothe
• Week 8: Eggs
• Week 9: Woman

Have a wonderful week everyone!-Kerryp.s. I was at the Museum of Science the other day, sitting with my son watching the Lightning Show.  The woman who did the presentation introduced herself, and then said, "and my pronouns are "she" and "her."  I LOVED that.  Way to go, Museum of Science!