New York-based photographer Nina Berman has been capturing portraits of the soldiers who have made life-altering sacrifices during their service in the military. For her "Purple Hearts" series, Berman photographed a few of the more than 32,000 soldiers (that's the official number) who have been wounded in combat in Iraq. Her more recent work, "Poisoned While Deployed," represented by the last two photographs here, looks at health consequences suffered from exposure to so-called "burn pits": open-air toxic dumps in Iraq operated by the United States and its contractors. Videos of the burn pits are available here.
An exhibition of the Purple Hearts work is currently on view at the Bernstein Gallery at Princeton University.
To view further images from "Purple Hearts," visit NOOR Images or Nina's website.
Photos courtesy of Nina Berman/NOOR
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Washing and rinsing rice. 
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Janitor mops a hallwayCanva
A group of volunteers clean up trash from a fieldCanva
A monkey looks at its reflection in a mirrorCanva
A happy woman holds up a smiley face balloonCanva
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"Now I'm intrigued." 
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Problematic homework question
A student’s brilliant homework answer outsmarted her teacher's ridiculously sexist question
From an early age, children absorb societal norms—including gender stereotypes. But one sharp 8-year-old from Birmingham, England, challenged a sexist homework question designed to reinforce outdated ideas.
An English teacher created a word puzzle with clues containing “UR.” One prompt read “Hospital Lady,” expecting students to answer “nurse.”
While most did, Yasmine wrote “surgeon”—a perfectly valid answer. Her father, Robert Sutcliffe, shared the incident on X (formerly Twitter), revealing the teacher had scribbled “or nurse” beside Yasmine’s response, revealing the biased expectation.
For Yasmine, the answer was obvious: both her parents are surgeons. Her perspective proves how representation shapes ambition. If children only see women as nurses, they internalize limits. But when they witness diversity—like female surgeons—they envision broader possibilities.
As Rebecca Brand noted in The Guardian: “Their developing minds are that little bit more unquestioning about what they see and hear on their screens. What message are we giving those impressionable minds about women? And how might we be cutting the ambitions of little girls short before they've even had the chance to develop properly?”
X users praised Yasmine while critiquing the question. Such subtle conditioning reinforces stereotypes early. Research confirms this: a study found children as young as four associate jobs with gender, with girls choosing “feminine” roles (e.g., nursing) and boys opting for “masculine” ones (e.g., engineering).
Even preschoolers avoided careers misaligned with their gender, proving sexist conditioning begins startlingly young.
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The problem spans globally. Data from 50 countries reveals that by age 15, girls disproportionately abandon math and science, while boys avoid caregiving fields like teaching and nursing. This segregation perpetuates stereotypes—women are underrepresented in STEM, and men in caregiving roles—creating a cycle that limits both genders.
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This article originally appeared last year.