This should be common knowledge, but the global concern surrounding women, mothers, and daughters includes a variety of pressing social issues: gender inequality, access to healthcare, workplace discrimination, violence against women, childcare support, education, social perfectionists’ expectations, and mainstream and unconventional stereotypes. In the global call to arms for the support of women’s rights and the challenges they consistently face, Greta Rico’s fine art, street photography, and cultural journalism play a powerful role in raising awareness and sparking conversations about the global challenges that women and mothers face—particularly in one of the largest cities in North America, Mexico City. Through her impactful and consistent visual accounts, Greta sheds light on issues such as maternal health, gender inequality, domestic violence, and the struggles of women, mothers, and daughters in rural or underserved areas. Her catalog serves as a tool for empowerment, highlighting the urgent need for better infrastructure and improved living conditions for women.

One of Rico’s most talked-about projects, “Subtitute Mothers” and “Urban Midwives”, intimately addresses the repercussions of femicides in Mexico. These projects explore social boundaries and rehistoricize the body, focusing on the specific challenges faced by women, mothers, and daughters. Through these photographic stories, Greta captures the harsh realities of gender-based violence and the personal confrontations women face with it, including issues related to maternal health and childbearing.

It is through her images that a safe space for dialogue is created, allowing women to share their own stories and perspectives and empowering them to reclaim their narratives. This shift in power dynamics, through photography, not only gives women a platform to express their struggles but also fosters greater confidence, self-expression, and visibility in society. Think of it as highlighting the critical need for social change, using photography to rally global attention to these issues, where images suddenly become beacons of hope—mobilizing action and resources to support the most vulnerable. Greta’s work brings visibility to the transformative power of journalism, encouraging women to embrace their authentic selves and challenging societal pressures to conform to idealized versions of motherhood and womanhood.

Greta’s work has been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Guardian, The Women ́s Media Center, HuffPost, El País, and Lado B, among others. She has collaborated with UN offices and various civil society organizations. Her work has been exhibited in galleries and museums across Mexico, New York, Rome, Valparaíso, Paris, Tokyo, and London. Greta is part of the Women Photograph Advisory Committee, a member of SheSource (a panel of experts at the Women’s Media Center), and a full member of Diversify Photo. She holds a Master’s degree in women’s studies.

While researching your work we found a quote by you: “As a feminist, I’ve seen how history has always been documented through the male gaze…” and this leads us to our first question: What are some of the things you do not like about how men in history have always photographed the stories of women, and how did it make you feel to study mostly men while trying to start up as a woman photographer?

It seems to me that when men have been the ones who have predominantly occupied creative spaces, their representations are biased, and many of them —not all, but most— have contributed to producing fictionalized and exoticized representations of women. I find that many of the existing representations that continue to be replicated don’t represent me, and when I talk to other women about it, we feel like the world has a misperception of who we are and our way of inhabiting the world. That’s why I always say that when women are creative, we have an enormous opportunity to rehistoricize ourselves, to create new representations where we feel comfortable and where discomfort isn’t the predominant factor.

In your own opinion, explain what the “female gaze” is and how different it is from the “male gaze”

Based on studies conducted by feminist art historians and academics who have examined women’s creations, they discuss how the art produced by women has been relegated throughout history. Women’s art has always been marginalized within the artistic canon due to the themes it addresses, as these have been undervalued and under-understood by male audiences. However, I am also very clear in stating that being a woman is not a determining factor in creating differently, because within our subjectivity, we are exposed to the fact that the “Masters” and the ones that mostly teach are men, and we commonly learn to see the world as they see it and with the standards they impose.

In the series of images that you sent to us, which is your favourite, and what is the story behind it?

To be very honest, they are all very meaningful to me because they are stories and themes I have been working on for several years. But if I had to choose, I would choose the one about the women of Tehuantepec (care work 15). I did this story a few years ago and published a report on how, amidst the religious celebrations of the Holy Week, and despite the fact that women don’t hold any important positions within the Catholic Church, at the community level, they are the ones who, through care work—cooking, cleaning churches, dressing saints, and organizing activities—sustain these rituals and keep them alive. The care economy is a topic that has interested me for several years, and I like to think of stories that show how, in such everyday activities as the customs and traditions of communities, women’s work is fundamental to their continued existence.

Concerning being a photographer who advocates for feminist values, are there some other photographers from whom you draw inspiration?

I’ve been studying the legacy of women photographers for many years, and there are many ancestors I deeply admire, such as Lola Álvarez Bravo, Cristina García Rodero, Graciela Iturbide, and Frida Hartz. But I also admire many artists of my generation, such as Carol Espíndola, Kiana Hayeri, Newsha Tavakolian, and Nina Berman.

How do you think the representation of women in photography has evolved, and what do you believe is the most significant shift needed in the way women are portrayed in the medium today?

I think we’re living in a time where the industry is being forced to integrate more diverse representations of women, but that doesn’t mean that the models of femininity and mandates of womanhood have been abandoned. I mean, we now see Black, fat, and Latina women, to name a few, but deep down, the media and the industry continue to strive to make that diversity fit within beauty stereotypes and what it means socially and culturally to be a good woman.

This is where I believe women creators have a tremendous opportunity to generate new representations that challenge those mandates and control mechanisms that still attempt to colonize our bodies and our creative intellect. But I also think it’s important to talk more about how we will only achieve this when we take a political stance on our work and are willing to make people uncomfortable with our visual discourse.

How do you think photography can contribute to shifting the narrative around women’s autonomy, particularly in the context of their bodies and reproductive rights?

I have a documentary project called Urban Midwives. This project was the result of five years of work, and it portrays the almost unknown work of midwives who work in one of Latin America’s largest cities, Mexico City. My pictures demonstrate that midwifery can contribute to reducing the rates of obstetric violence experienced by Mexican women in hospitals and excessive medicalization amid the current epidemic of cesarean sections in the country.

At some point, I decided that this photography project had to become an educational project. Through exhibitions, talks, workshops, and conversations about my photographs and the experiences of the women featured in them, other women could learn about their sexual and reproductive rights and society in general could learn to view childbirth as a physiological process for women and not an illness. By sharing this experience, it becomes clear to me that our projects and our artistic and documentary creations can contribute to women changing the way they see and inhabit the world.

What is your favorite camera to use while working in the field?

I’m currently working with 2 Leica cameras: sl2-s and Q2.