New York Times Series Highlights Girlhood Across the Globe on International Day of the Girl

Eighteen-year-olds are a lot of things to a lot of people. They are adults in the eyes of the U.S. legal system, still children to parents, prospective students or workers to colleges and employers. Still to others, they are objects of desire or envy, fuel for movies and novels, and much more. But to 18-year-old girls, they are simply themselves. On October 11, International Day of the Girl, the New York Times is portraying girls from across the world as exactly who they are. The Times is rolling out a new series from its gender initiative and style section that shows 18-year-old girls in image, personality, and much more. As one part of the series, the Times commissioned young women from across the globe to photograph 18-year-old girls in their home countries. This, New York Times gender editor Jessica Bennett told Teen Vogue, is an effort to shift the gaze on young women away from the influence of others and put it back in their own hands.

"We want to show a mosaic of what life is like for 18 year old girls around the world. We felt like 18 was this really transitional age that we could focus on. It's literally at the cusp of girlhood and adulthood," she told Teen Vogue. "We want people to take away [from this] that girls are smart and funny and complicated and contain different dimensions."

To accomplish that goal, the Times deployed 22 photographers paired with 23 mentors across 12 time zones to take photos of 21 girls. They also posed questions to each of the girls, revealing many similarities across countries and continents, according to Bennett. She hopes the series, presented like a zine, will show young women across the world something they don't always see in media — themselves.

"I think it's pretty rare for girls to see people who look like them staring back at them," Bennett said. "I want girls to see people who look like them. People they can relate to in some way and know their stories are important and valuable."

Below, check out some of the photos from the Times's series that they shared with Teen Vogue. Head here to see the whole series.