Creative Arts High School (My Mom and I Were Homeless) St. Paul MN from Wing Young Huie's album Homelessness, Accessed 9/7/2014.



The photograph depicts a young woman in Minnesota. She is wearing multiple layers and scarves and her hair is a mess. at first glance, she "looks homeless." She is holding chalkboard sign. the sign reads "My mom & I were homeless for nearly a year. It wasn't our fault. Now I want to be an artist and own a café".

Looking at the surface of the photograph we just see a young woman with aspirations to be an artist that owns her own café. She was homeless for about a year and maybe feels that her dreams will never come true.

If we look a little deeper the idea that homeless people are in their situation because of their own actions emerges. this isn't always the case. Homeless people today are often reffered to as "the homeless" the word people is removed as if they are animals. Society views these people in "reduced circumstances" as subhuman and unable to succeed (Atwood 8). By taking and posting this picture, Wing Young Huie gives this young woman as well as other homeless people a voice.


Atwood and Huie both present the idea of "others." In The Handmaid's Tale, the handmaids are the others, in Huie's work, the homeless are the others. Both Atwood and Huie present theses others as the main focus instead of passing by them as many people do. By making others the focal point, Atwood and Huie give these people a voice and give other people a new perspective.