I remember when my mom braided my hair tightly as a child, I winced in pain, and she told me: “Beauty requires sacrifices”. When a girl becomes a woman, sooner or later, she realizes that mom was right. Actually, adult life has many good things too. The main thing – don`t go to extremes!

This axiom about beauty and the ability to sacrifice runs through Australian artist Jessica Ledwich`s scandalous photo project “Monstrous Feminine”. The author, with the help of a camera and a bit of photo editing, shows what society presents as a high value and often criticizes the eternal cult of beauty and youth.

You agree, it looks ridiculous when a woman, gritting her teeth from pain, struts in excessively high heels, as if performing some unimaginable heroic deed. In short, see for yourself...