summer teeth

photo series by cate banks

I took this series of photos with my [now best] friend at a time we both were struggling with our identity transitioning from girl to womanhood. It was 2:00am and we hopped in my car, playing our favorite songs, and pulled off at the least scary places we could find while driving around rural, Western Massachusetts. We took a series of photos then ran to the car, leaving the platform flip-flops on the concrete, scared of hearing men or cars around us. I think about this moment a lot. We were both free and careless but we really couldn't be--we're girls after all. Bitterness stings my teeth everytime I think of this night. I love this night--I felt 17 again and was with my friend and we were everything even though we were nothing. But at the end of the day we cannot live in a world where we can be fully free and nothing. Because to men, we are always something. This night is a symbol of all our girlhood, alone and in the dark; when we realize being a woman is liberating but so much scarier than what we knew before. Such sweet moments carry such heavy bitterness but I am grateful to capture them when I can.