" This Is 18" is a new project from the New York Times that explores that question from the point of view of 18-year-old young women all around the world.
It’s a moment that’s pivotal for all of us. In the U.S.,18 marks the beginning of civic responsibility — now, you can vote. In the U.K., China and parts of Canada, it means you can get into bars. In Israel, it means a mandatory draft into the military. By 18, one in five women across the globe will be married.
In this series, New York Times photo editors sought out 22 young women photographers in countries from Mexico to Nigeria, making it part photography project and part documentary. Each young photographer was assigned a mentor, and coached as they documented the lives of these young women.
The result is a moving portrait of what it means to be 18 years old around the world today.
The Show spoke with Sandra Stevenson about it, she’s an assistant editor in the New York Times’ photography department who was the project’s picture editor. She said they used their network of photographers they know around the world to identify the young women who would take part in this project, and then asked them to track down their subjects — other young women who are 18 or would turn 18 this year.
