In 2022, photographer Laura Menassa began exploring how women in the SWANA region perceive their bodies, focusing on eating disorders and the social and familial factors behind them. Through conversations with women, she uncovered how beauty standards and societal norms impact body image, touching on themes like body hair, eating disorders, and skin picking.
The project grew into a collaborative journey through photography, testimonies, and collage, confronting the silence imposed on women and offering a space to share their wounds in the hope of shifting perceptions. It aims to celebrate womanhood, dismantle taboos, and reclaim space and bodies.
“The more women I met, the more I realized that the issue was never just eating disorders or body stigma—it was the shame ingrained in our culture(s). By shedding light on the hidden wounds and quiet rebellions that shape womanhood, I hope to create a space where vulnerability becomes strength and where the act of being seen becomes a form of resistance.
This project is for the woman that I am and for those who share this reality. It is a way to reclaim our space, our bodies, and our worth — to feel, even just a little, that we are not the problem, but rather the ones redefining what should have never been questioned in the first place.” – Laura Menassa
Growing up, the photographer internalized cultural beauty standards, feeling pressured to hide her body hair, seen as ʿaib (shameful) in Lebanese society. Through this work, she reflects on the struggles women face navigating societal expectations and the lasting physical and psychological repercussions.
“I’ve realized that not feeling okay in my body is also tied to not wanting to take up space. I’ve always been afraid of bothering people, of being too much to handle, constantly apologizing for existing. I wanted to be discreet and quiet. That applies to my body too — always self-conscious about the physical space I occupy.” – MJ, Paris, France, December 2024.
“In 2025, I met Nour, a young Lebanese woman who took me to a quiet forest she used to visit as a scout and teenager — a small, hidden space along a road in Rabieh. As we spoke, she described how her body physically reacts to feeling silenced: her throat turns red and itchy when she’s unable to speak freely.
The tree trunks reminded me of skin — their rough, uneven textures like the imperfections we’re taught to hide. Yet, these marks speak to endurance, natural beauty, and the stories carried within.” - Laura Menassa, Rabieh, Lebanon, February 2025.
An image of Paula from the back. Madrid, Spain, June 2022. “Looking back and reflecting on my life, I realized that what I regret most is how I placed obstacles in the way of my own femininity. I think it’s connected to my history, my relationship with food. I was afraid of taking on the responsibility of being a woman, thinking it was easier to remain a girl. Now, I still struggle with my body’s appearance, but in the opposite way. Life is ironic sometimes." - Paula |
An archival portrait found in Cairo. Photographed in Beirut, Lebanon, in January 2025. “During my visit to Cairo for this project, I came across archival photographs in a small shop. Looking closer, I noticed that eyelashes had been manually added. This early form of Photoshop, which appeared decades ago, was already reinforcing beauty standards. Eyelash extensions have in fact existed since ancient Egypt, when women used horsehair to intensify their gaze.” - Laura Menassa |
A close-up image of MJ’s legs wearing tights. Paris, France, December 2024.
“I met MJ in her apartment in Paris. We plan to continue our collaboration when she visits Lebanon this summer. She recently decided to stop removing her body hair, telling me it was easier to take the leap in France than in Lebanon. Yet, she still considered shaving if she were to go to the beach. In Lebanon, I have often heard remarks equating body hair with poor hygiene or something shameful, even disgusting—yet, at the same time, more and more women are reclaiming and embracing their natural appearance.” - Laura Menassa
Nour poses in a dark street in Rabieh, Lebanon, in February 2025. “When I started this project, I thought its core focus would be eating disorders. But meeting Nour made me realize how societal and familial pressures can manifest physiologically in different ways. Nour doesn’t suffer from eating or body dysmorphic disorders; she battles Sjögren’s syndrome. Her body’s immune cells attack themselves, causing extreme dryness, typically in the eyes and throat—but in her case, it affects large parts of her skin.” - Laura Menassa
When the photographer and Nour spoke about her condition, Nour said, “For me, it’s more about body image and skin issues as a result of an autoimmune disorder—something that has a lot to do with being a woman, especially a woman from our region and cultures similar to ours.” |
Period panties soak in the bathtub. Photographed in Beirut, Lebanon, in January 2025.
“A woman’s relationship with her period varies across cultures, personalities, and symptoms. Despite being a natural part of life, menstruation remains under-discussed, under-studied, and often shrouded in silence.” - Laura Menassa
“In Lebanon, it’s sometimes impossible to find tampons in certain shops. I remember as a teenager, my aunt once told me not to wear them because I would lose my virginity. At that age, I was already wondering — how could an adult woman who menstruates not know that? What are society and families teaching girls to believe?” – Anonymous testimony
Ruwan blending with the sea rocks, photographed in Dalieh, Beirut, Lebanon, in April 2025.
“Growing up in Beirut as a half-Ethiopian girl, I was constantly made aware that I didn’t fit the mold – my features, my hair, my body all marked me as different in a society with narrow definitions of beauty. From a young age, I internalized the idea that being beautiful and thin was a ticket to belonging. But when Lebanon began to fall apart, when the economy collapsed, when the revolution failed, when the blast shattered our city, I was already unraveling quietly. In a world spinning out of control, where grief and uncertainty clung to everything, not eating gave me a strange, painful sense of order. Disappearing into thinness made me feel powerful.” – Ruwan
Small glimpses along the road in Rabieh, Lebanon, February 2025.
“While I constantly see billboards about beauty, jewelry for women, permanent hair removal, or botox—reinforcing the rigid beauty standards imposed on women—this one was left blank, with only the word ‘Freedom.’ In my mind, it felt like a protest—a silent reclaiming of our voices.” - Laura Menassa
N, photographed in Saqqara, Egypt, in November 2024.
“I struggle to find beauty within myself every day. Within the body that carries me. The body that I was often told was too weak, too malnourished, too imperfect. I struggle to find love in my imperfections. Growing up in a woman’s body, I was often consumed by the desire to feel beautiful in the eyes of the
men I loved. My father, my last lover... When both failed, when both made me feel the opposite of “beauty,” I grew accustomed to never believing a compliment or a praise of beauty. The men I loved made me wish that I looked different. More “beautiful.” I wished for softer hair, lighter skin, healthier body... I forgot my own interpretation of beauty, and that it already exists within my being. This body that God gave me. This body that I constantly learn to love. This body that I gently hold, and its memory that I try to heal.” - N
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Laura Menassa is a photographer and art director based in Beirut, Lebanon. She is a member of Women Photograph. Since 2022, she has been working on You Told Me I Was Beautiful, a project supported by the Al-MU7AFFIZ Cultural Grant from the Goethe-Institut Libanon.
Blending photography with personal testimonies, the project explores the struggles of womanhood in the Arab world. Conceived as a photobook, it focuses on the challenges women face in defining their identity and femininity within societies where personal choices are often shaped by external expectations and cultural pressure.
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World Press Photo has partnered with the Samir Kassir Foundation to offer a free masterclass program for photojournalists based in Lebanon. The masterclass’s objective is to develop and guide photographers with 4-8 years of experience in their practice, placing special emphasis on building skills for long and sustainable careers in photojournalism, documentary photography, and beyond. Moreover, this course is designed to help photographers based in Lebanon reach the international community, providing guidance on diverse topics such as safety, research, photo ethics, writing, legal requirements, pitching, career development, and avenues for publishing.
See more work by Samir Kassir Foundation Masterclass participants here
