View allAll Photos Tagged GenderIdentity
You have to take a moment
to understand the pressure
some folks feel about being binary.
Darlene didn’t care to wear
bows in their hair
or fancy dresses to any formal party.
They mainly just wanted to roam around the town
and breathe fire all day.
We couldn’t really blame Darlene
after all, it looked quite fun-like play
Darlene seemed rather invigorated
because there were a lot of concepts
that really needed to be incinerated.
**All poems an photos are copyrighted**
Ryan Janek Wolowski
Washington DC
Amanda Lepore live at Be Bar
11/08/2008
Ryan Wolowski cought up with R. Sky Palkowitz aka The Delusional Diva and John E. from New York who attended there first ever live Amanda Lepore performance. The show took place at Be Bar which is located 1318 9th St., NW Washington DC.
www.myspace.com/amandaleporeonline
LGBT GLBT LGB lesbain lesbian gay bisexual transgender transexual transsexual trans people TS sex sexual orientation cross dress dresser crossdresser cross-dresser TV transvestite DQ drag queen queens king kings transvestite Transvestism androgyne intersexual intersex intersexed other quer queer and or questioning agender genderqueer third gender reassignment surgery hormones bigender identity role non heterosexual str8 homo homosexuality homosexual community culture cultures people pansexual polysexual asexual feminist girl girls lady ladies women womens girlfriend girlfriends boyfriend boyfriends boy boys man men mens guy guys butch femme dyke diva divas she male shemale shemales transition transitioning effeminate Hijra two spirit two-spirit rainbows rainbow flag flags pink triangle triangles prides pride parade parades rights marriages marriage civil union unions acceptance equality
Video By
Ryan Janek Wolowski
Wigstock 2004 in Tompkins Square Park in the East Village of New York City as part of The Howl Festival.
Wigstock started in 1984 , Drag Queens from the Pyramid Club headed over to Tompkins Square Park, including Brian Butterick, Michael "Kitty" Ullman, Wendy Wild, The "Lady" Bunny and a few members of the Fleshtones were horsing around in the bandshell when someone came up with the idea of a day-long drag festival - and calling it Wigstock. It was Lady Bunny went ahead and getting the necessary permits and Wigstock was born. Wigstock moved to Pier 54 after becoming such a large event that it could no longer be held in Tompkins Square Park, in 2004 Wigstock returned to the East Viallge as part of the annual Howl Festival.
Wigstock
(212) 243-3143
wigstock@wigstock.nu
Howl Festival
212-466-6666
info@howlnyc.org
Photo
New York City USA
08-21-2004
Caudillos, in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico
Caudillos Disco Bar
Prisciliano Sánchez 407, Col. Centro, Guadalajara, Jalisco (On Prisciliano Sánchez, near Ocampo.)
Zip: 44100
Phone: (52) (33) 3613-5445
E-mail: rutacaudillos(at)remove-this.hotmail.com
Photo
Guadalajara Jalisco Mexico
11-22-2011
Wigstock 2004 in Tompkins Square Park in the East Village of New York City as part of The Howl Festival.
Wigstock started in 1984 , Drag Queens from the Pyramid Club headed over to Tompkins Square Park, including Brian Butterick, Michael "Kitty" Ullman, Wendy Wild, The "Lady" Bunny and a few members of the Fleshtones were horsing around in the bandshell when someone came up with the idea of a day-long drag festival - and calling it Wigstock. It was Lady Bunny went ahead and getting the necessary permits and Wigstock was born. Wigstock moved to Pier 54 after becoming such a large event that it could no longer be held in Tompkins Square Park, in 2004 Wigstock returned to the East Viallge as part of the annual Howl Festival.
Wigstock
(212) 243-3143
wigstock@wigstock.nu
Howl Festival
212-466-6666
info@howlnyc.org
Photo
New York City USA
08-21-2004
Wigstock 2004 in Tompkins Square Park in the East Village of New York City as part of The Howl Festival.
Wigstock started in 1984 , Drag Queens from the Pyramid Club headed over to Tompkins Square Park, including Brian Butterick, Michael "Kitty" Ullman, Wendy Wild, The "Lady" Bunny and a few members of the Fleshtones were horsing around in the bandshell when someone came up with the idea of a day-long drag festival - and calling it Wigstock. It was Lady Bunny went ahead and getting the necessary permits and Wigstock was born. Wigstock moved to Pier 54 after becoming such a large event that it could no longer be held in Tompkins Square Park, in 2004 Wigstock returned to the East Viallge as part of the annual Howl Festival.
Wigstock
(212) 243-3143
wigstock@wigstock.nu
Howl Festival
212-466-6666
info@howlnyc.org
Photo
New York City USA
08-21-2004
Wigstock 2004 in Tompkins Square Park in the East Village of New York City as part of The Howl Festival.
Wigstock started in 1984 , Drag Queens from the Pyramid Club headed over to Tompkins Square Park, including Brian Butterick, Michael "Kitty" Ullman, Wendy Wild, The "Lady" Bunny and a few members of the Fleshtones were horsing around in the bandshell when someone came up with the idea of a day-long drag festival - and calling it Wigstock. It was Lady Bunny went ahead and getting the necessary permits and Wigstock was born. Wigstock moved to Pier 54 after becoming such a large event that it could no longer be held in Tompkins Square Park, in 2004 Wigstock returned to the East Viallge as part of the annual Howl Festival.
Wigstock
(212) 243-3143
wigstock@wigstock.nu
Howl Festival
212-466-6666
info@howlnyc.org
Photo
New York City USA
08-21-2004
The Morocco Roadtrip
Fes
thanks to Rod.
Featured in Life Framer - THE COLLECTION
cover of D A Y_D R E A M E R S
cover of kindmess
From ROOFTOP series at “Je so’ Pazz”, a former OPG (psychiatric judicial hospital) in Naples, Italy.
OPGs were a dark chapter in the history of our country: criminal asylums where unbelievable human rights violations were committed. I wanted to capture the essence of this place, the madness, the insolence, the anger, the uprising, the sunset adding something warm, powerful, something revolutionary
Featured in EyeEm Magazine Vol.V
Finalist at Body, Mind & Earth Contest by Eyeem and exhibited at the Fashionpalooza exhibition at Lollapalooza 2019
Memorial Day is a celebrated holiday in the Unities States where people celebrate and remember the lives of those who served in the armed forces.
Which leads me to another photograph of the candlelight vigil at the Trans Rights protest I attended in which the lives lost in the LGBTQ community were remembered and I'll explain why.
Over time, with the US military, our government has been a little more accepting of people with different sexual orientations and gender identities but our current administration-both Trump and Pence, are incredibly hateful and ignorant of the discrimination and danger that the LGBTQ community is constantly under in America and that this is a valid human rights issue demanding legislative protections.
I want to pose a question to all Americans as well as all conscientious people in the world who care about human rights: What good are these overarching concepts of freedom when they do not apply to all people? This is not a freedom I can believe in. It is a selective discrimination based on the luck of being heterosexual, or white, or able bodied, or male, or born into wealth. This is not the America I want to live in and, though not all soldiers agree with me, I have to say that I don't think the selective freedom is all that worth fighting for. It is far more noble to honor all people. It redeems us as humans.
If you have been watching the news of what is happening in America, you'll see our country is still struggling with a rise in hate crimes. Although the more recent ones have focused on Islamophobia, news stories about those killed for being trans have been under-reported or buried amongst the constant stream of reporting on the insanity of the Trump administration.
This year alone, the following people in America have been killed for being trans. They exercised their freedom to change their bodies, when they felt they were literally born as the wrong gender and they were killed for it. Many of them were also minorities. We could have learned and loved with these people and become better humans. Now, they are gone and we have lost a part of ourselves too. :
Mesha Caldwell
Jamie Lee Wounded Arrow
Jojo Striker
Tiara Lashaytheboss Richmond
Jaquarrius Holland
Chyna Doll Dupree
Ciara McEween
Alphonza Watson
Chayviss Reed
Brenda Bostick
Sherrell Faulkner
Let us remember them. Let us say their names. Let us make sure the violence stops.
**All photos are copyrighted. Please don't use without permission**
RuPaul's Drag Race Season Three Crowning Party in NYC.
RuPaul's Drag Race Season 3 thirteen drag queens compete for the title of "America's Next Drag Superstar", a headlining spot on the Absolut Tour, a lifetime supply of makeup from Kryolan and a $75,000 cash prize. The winner Raja (Sutan Amrull) was crowned live in NYC, who was joined on stage with runner ups Manila Luzon (Karl Westerberg) and Alexis Mateo (Alexis Pacheco).
RuPaul's Drag Race is an American reality television series on th Logo channel which is owned by Viacom's MTV Networks division.
Providence Nightclub
311 West 57th Street
New York, NY 10019
212.307.0062
rsvp@providencenyc.com
Photo
New York City USA
04-25-2011
The Morocco Roadtrip
Featured in Life Framer - THE COLLECTION
Featured in EyeEm Blog Take Ten Interview
The Morocco Roadtrip
Tanger
Featured in Life Framer - THE COLLECTION
Featured in EyeEm Blog Take Ten Interview
In memory of the hundreds of Bishnoi Women, who died protecting their dear trees in 1730, a number of khejri trees are planted around the area, which is still notably lush and rich with animal life. The Bishnoi sacrifices became the inspiration for a much larger Chipko movement that is still growing today, in which villagers physically embrace trees to save them from logging. The Bishnoi faith is founded on 29 principles, most of which promote environmental stewardship. Bishnois strictly forbid the harming of trees and animals.
Save the Girl, Educate the Girl.
Photo: Firoz Ahmad Firoz, Barmer, Rajasthan.
All Rights Reserved
What's in a Name?
Something I've been thinking for a short while now as I've become more and more secure in my genderqueer identity, and not caring too much if people see me as female or male... I know what I am. When I originally adopted the name Rory back in December, it was to be my boy name but eventually it became my genderqueer name. I wanted a non-gendered name to symbolize me stepping outside of the female gender box... and I did not want someone to see me as Zoée = female. So I felt that Rory would kind of change that. But now I don't even fucking care anymore what people see me as. Thus lately I've been wondering, do I want to reclaim Zoée back as my primary name? I haven't decided. I feel so attached to BOTH names at this point!!!
This self portrait... is obviously in ASL. On the top left corner, I am fingerspelling RORY, on the top right corner I am fingerspelling ZOEE. On the bottom I am basically trying to say "how does a name relate to one's inner identity?" in ASL. It was a huge challenge to try and organize the pictures in a way that it'd make sense AND be correct in ASL. I did the best I could!!! In ASL it says:
NAME [point at name], [point at self] INNER IDENTITY, RELATE HOW?
I would actually do it NAME [point at self], INNER IDENTITY [point at self], RELATE HOW? But it looked weird with the pointing to self image after IDENTITY, it flowed better this way in pictures... hopefully it doesn't make too much of a difference! Another idea I had was INNER IDENTITY [points at self], RELATE NAME [points at name] HOW? I had a whole bunch of suggestions as to how to interpret "What's in a name" into ASL while emphasizing that it's about name + identity.. I decided to go with the one above.
This little mofo took me... *ahem* 6 hours to make. HAHAHAHAH!!! But so worth it.
Also can I say, fuck, I love my language.
'People from behind' is a theme I like very much. I think it's a tough one, but when it works, it creates an interesting image
The rainbow flag has become the worldwide banner of the LGBT community because the major colors of the visible spectrum represent diversity among the entire human population. Humankind is one species, but we come in a wide range of shapes, sizes, and colors. We have two basic genetic and anatomical sexes with a small minority that are in between or have some characteristics of both.
Then it gets more complicated. For reproductive purposes, most people are attracted to the opposite sex; however, a fairly big minority is attracted to the same sex, both sexes, or neither, and those attractions may change over the course of a person's life. Gender identity and expression for most people is related to their biological sex but not rigidly tied to it. How a person feels, acts, and presents themselves is part internal and part cultural, so it is subject to change, especially across space and time. Human society is not uniform throughout our planet, and it changes over the years, so is it any surprise that gender appearance, identity, social roles, and behavior can change and vary from person to person?
Unfortunately, some social groups, political organizations, ethnic groups, religious cults, families, and bigoted individuals try to force everybody to conform to rigid sexual conduct, gender roles, and outward appearance. Those who do not conform are branded as evil, perverted, or crazy and either forced to conform, expelled, beaten up, imprisoned, or killed.
In the United States, LGBT folks are fighting for our CIVIL RIGHTS. We are gaining some ground, but so-called "social conservatives" in some state and local governments are trying to erect new legal obstacles in our path. Some of them publicly call for our extermination. Hate crimes against us continue, and a few days ago in Orlando, a major terrorist attack by a lone gunman murdered at least 49 people at a gay nightclub.
2016 is an election year and one of the most vicious ever. In general, the same people who preach hatred against LGBT people are the same crowd who promotes hatred against people of color, opposes reproductive freedom for women, denies Climate Change and opposes meaningful measures to mitigate it, opposes environmental protection, opposes financial regulation, opposes Internet Neutrality, opposes an increase in the minimum wage, opposes election reform, but they approve of CORPORATE GREED, unlimited exploitation of our natural resources, unending overseas conflict, the militarization of our police forces, the expansion of private prisons, and a continued expansion of domestic surveillance without any accountability.
This particular graphic was copied from one of the many LGBT political action groups I subscribe to, and since it is a commonly used banner, this constitutes Fair Use.
My Keystone Presentation.
It was a great conversation with the audience. Thanks to Blake Dremann for being there to help answer all the questions.
I certainly hope to have more opportunities to give this (or similar) presentation in the future. It's always fun to engage.
Photo by Firoz Ahmad
All rights reserved
Location: MP, India
Programm: The Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) zinc/ORS program in India.
I've head this idea in my head for a while, and after borrowing Mackie's studio lights for a shoot next week I finally got round to it.
Representing and questioning the majority of society's idea of stereotypes within the gender binary.
Explored - #58
Feeling amazing!!
See you at the EnGENDERed exhibition
International Photography Festival Midtown Tel-Aviv 23.11.17 - 02.12.17
Wigstock 2004 in Tompkins Square Park in the East Village of New York City as part of The Howl Festival.
Wigstock started in 1984 , Drag Queens from the Pyramid Club headed over to Tompkins Square Park, including Brian Butterick, Michael "Kitty" Ullman, Wendy Wild, The "Lady" Bunny and a few members of the Fleshtones were horsing around in the bandshell when someone came up with the idea of a day-long drag festival - and calling it Wigstock. It was Lady Bunny went ahead and getting the necessary permits and Wigstock was born. Wigstock moved to Pier 54 after becoming such a large event that it could no longer be held in Tompkins Square Park, in 2004 Wigstock returned to the East Viallge as part of the annual Howl Festival.
Wigstock
(212) 243-3143
wigstock@wigstock.nu
Howl Festival
212-466-6666
info@howlnyc.org
Photo
New York City USA
08-21-2004
Violence against women and girls is everyone's problem. It brings down an entire society. We are ALL touched by femicide in India. Census data shows that poverty and illiteracy are not key factors in India’s female genocide as many assume. The survival of girls is determined by a patriarchal politics of wealth control.
Save the Girl, Educate the Girl.
interactive.unwomen.org/multimedia/timeline/yearinreview/...
Photo: Firoz Ahmad
Wigstock 2004 in Tompkins Square Park in the East Village of New York City as part of The Howl Festival.
Wigstock started in 1984 , Drag Queens from the Pyramid Club headed over to Tompkins Square Park, including Brian Butterick, Michael "Kitty" Ullman, Wendy Wild, The "Lady" Bunny and a few members of the Fleshtones were horsing around in the bandshell when someone came up with the idea of a day-long drag festival - and calling it Wigstock. It was Lady Bunny went ahead and getting the necessary permits and Wigstock was born. Wigstock moved to Pier 54 after becoming such a large event that it could no longer be held in Tompkins Square Park, in 2004 Wigstock returned to the East Viallge as part of the annual Howl Festival.
Wigstock
(212) 243-3143
wigstock@wigstock.nu
Howl Festival
212-466-6666
info@howlnyc.org
Photo
New York City USA
08-21-2004
See you at the EnGENDERed exhibition
International Photography Festival Midtown Tel-Aviv 23.11.17 - 02.12.17
See you at the EnGENDERed exhibition
International Photography Festival Midtown Tel-Aviv 23.11.17 - 02.12.17
L'Amour, Paris
with the lovely Miss Drinks
See you at the EnGENDERed exhibition
International Photography Festival Midtown Tel-Aviv 23.11.17 - 02.12.17
Fluidity - is part of current conversation, an expression of gender identity, modern chic and mostly reflective of an honest journey.
# The Indian women dress up like newlyweds in bright hues of red, orange, blue and green in order to celebrate the Teej festival.
Photo: Firoz Ahmad
All Rights Reserved
******************************************
The Teej festival is an auspicious Hindu festival in which married women worship Goddess Parvati and Lord Shiva to pray for marital bliss. The women gather in groups to enjoy the celebrations with Teej songs, mehendi and playing on swings, while enjoying the monsoon winds.
******************************************
Orange the World: #HearMeToo
Violence against women and girls is everyone's problem. It brings down an entire society. We are ALL touched by femicide in India. Census data shows that poverty and illiteracy are not key factors in India’s female genocide as many assume. The survival of girls is determined by a patriarchal politics of wealth control.
In recent years, the voices of survivors and activists, through campaigns such as #MeToo, #TimesUp, #Niunamenos, #NotOneMore, #BalanceTonPorc and others, have reached a crescendo that cannot be silenced any more.
Join the UNiTE Campaign’s Orange the World: #HearMeToo! Share your photos, messages and videos showing how you are participating in the campaign at facebook.com/SayNO.UNiTE and twitter.com/SayNO_UNiTE using #orangetheworld and #HearMeToo.
Wigstock 2004 in Tompkins Square Park in the East Village of New York City as part of The Howl Festival.
Wigstock started in 1984 , Drag Queens from the Pyramid Club headed over to Tompkins Square Park, including Brian Butterick, Michael "Kitty" Ullman, Wendy Wild, The "Lady" Bunny and a few members of the Fleshtones were horsing around in the bandshell when someone came up with the idea of a day-long drag festival - and calling it Wigstock. It was Lady Bunny went ahead and getting the necessary permits and Wigstock was born. Wigstock moved to Pier 54 after becoming such a large event that it could no longer be held in Tompkins Square Park, in 2004 Wigstock returned to the East Viallge as part of the annual Howl Festival.
Wigstock
(212) 243-3143
wigstock@wigstock.nu
Howl Festival
212-466-6666
info@howlnyc.org
Photo
New York City USA
08-21-2004
RuPaul's Drag Race Season Three Crowning Party in NYC.
RuPaul's Drag Race Season 3 thirteen drag queens compete for the title of "America's Next Drag Superstar", a headlining spot on the Absolut Tour, a lifetime supply of makeup from Kryolan and a $75,000 cash prize. The winner Raja (Sutan Amrull) was crowned live in NYC, who was joined on stage with runner ups Manila Luzon (Karl Westerberg) and Alexis Mateo (Alexis Pacheco).
RuPaul's Drag Race is an American reality television series on th Logo channel which is owned by Viacom's MTV Networks division.
Providence Nightclub
311 West 57th Street
New York, NY 10019
212.307.0062
rsvp@providencenyc.com
Photo
New York City USA
04-25-2011
Violence against women and girls is everyone's problem. It brings down an entire society. We are ALL touched by femicide in India. Census data shows that poverty and illiteracy are not key factors in India’s female genocide as many assume. The survival of girls is determined by a patriarchal politics of wealth control.
Save the Girl, Educate the Girl.
An interactive data game that lets you explore the progress and pitfalls of girls’ and women’s education around the world. “learn more”.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Photo: Firoz Ahmad
All Rights Reserved
Recently I have been thinking about gender boxes, and how one is basically shoved into a box. If you don't identify as a female anymore? That means you're transitioning into a male. Don't want to use female pronouns? Ok male pronouns then. Seems that it's difficult to stay somewhere in the middle... and the mainstream seem to not want to have to deal with something as strange as neutral pronouns, and the thought of maybe not identifying as either genders. I've noticed a pattern too, that if a female bodied person says they are genderqueer, people assume that they will only want to express themselves in a masculine way... which I think is kinda crappy. I sometime feel this pressure to ONLY express myself in a masculine way, and while I do mostly only want to wear "masculine" clothes and be flat chested etc, I keep in mind that this is how I feel right now, one day I might want to prettify myself and go out in a dress but I hesitate to do so, because of the fear that people would then doubt and question my gender identity and think that me in a dress somehow invalidates my identity.
As I stepped away from the female gender box, I felt the pull toward the male gender box. Some people started using masculine pronouns for me, and male terms, I at first found it curious, exciting, and fun, but over time, I've come to the conclusion that the male gender feels just as wrong, if not more. I just end up feeling stuck in yet another box, and it feels as if I am ignoring/denying one aspect of me. I am not completely male, nor am I completely female. I like being able to express myself however I want on whatever day, and I am realizing more and more that I like being as androgynous as possible right now as it gives me a lot of freedom to go either way, it's nice having that freedom.
I guess, ultimately I prefer everything to be neutral. Neutral pronouns [ze/hir/they/their], neutral terms [ie: elf, dude -yes that's neutral to me-, person, individual, etc], and there's some female terms I am okay with, such as sister, daughter, mostly family related stuff though because that's what I am to my family and I am okay with it, and it feels more right than brother or son. I am starting to think that also, in society in general, I am okay with being seen as female and having female pronouns being used. I can't be bothered to correct people who I don't even care about in the first place. But with friends [and family], I would appreciate the effort to use neutral pronouns/terms. I'm trying hard to not shove myself into yet another box. I need to remind myself that it's okay to choose to express myself in any way, as a female-bodied genderqueer. So if anyone has been using masculine/feminine terms etc, let's drop it... unless I am in character/drag.
This quote from genderfork describes my feelings on this topic pretty well:
"Every time I have to choose between the boxes "male" and "female", I feel like I'm betraying a part of myself."
EXPLORED! 149
Comments always appreciated, as long as you keep it clean - I love to hear your feedback! xx
A few casual photos here. These pictures taken 27/11/2019, exactly 1 week short of a year since I started on hormones. I have to say, I am pretty ecstatic with the results so far!
Israeli singer Dana International דנה אינטרנשיונל at Escuelita Nightclub in New York City USA 2003
Popular singer Dana International from Tel Aviv Israel made USA performance debut at The Beacon Theatre on the Upper West Side of NYC with a club show after-party in Midtown at Escuelita Nightclub. Dana International was promoting the cd HaHalom HaEfshari החלום האפשרי The Possible Dream.
Dana International Sharon Cohen born Yaron Cohen identified as a female from a very young age and came out as transsexual at the age of 13. Dana International wanted to become a singer since the age of eight, when she watched legendary Israeli singer Ofra Haza perform her song "Chai" in the 1983 Eurovision Song Contest. In 1998 Dana International won the Eurovision Song Contest in Birmingham with the song "Diva".
Dana International
Escuelita Nightclub
301 West 39th Street
New York NY 10018
USA
212-631-0588
Photo
New York City USA
12-13-2003
RuPaul's Drag Race Season Three Crowning Party in NYC.
RuPaul's Drag Race Season 3 thirteen drag queens compete for the title of "America's Next Drag Superstar", a headlining spot on the Absolut Tour, a lifetime supply of makeup from Kryolan and a $75,000 cash prize. The winner Raja (Sutan Amrull) was crowned live in NYC, who was joined on stage with runner ups Manila Luzon (Karl Westerberg) and Alexis Mateo (Alexis Pacheco).
RuPaul's Drag Race is an American reality television series on th Logo channel which is owned by Viacom's MTV Networks division.
Providence Nightclub
311 West 57th Street
New York, NY 10019
212.307.0062
rsvp@providencenyc.com
Photo
New York City USA
04-25-2011
As you may read on Art Souterrain’s web site, it is “a non-profit organization founded in 2009, showcases each year international contemporary art institutions, artists, and the architectural and cultural heritage of downtown Montreal’s underground city. As a unique contemporary art festival in North America, Art Souterrain aims to make art accessible to a wider audience by taking it out of its traditional exhibition spaces”.
Each year, this festival’s opening night coincides with Montreal’s Nuit Blanche and is a big bash sprawled throughout the maze of shopping center and office building subterranean corridors pompously branded Underground City. It is attended by thousands of people; there are dozens of artist performances that first evening. After that, the festival fades into rapid public oblivion regardless of the organizer’s brave efforts to keep it going. This year, I was abroad and missed that big night. On the Sunday when I met Irving and Amanda, I had also missed a bus that passes only every half hour. I figured I’d have a peek at what was left of Art Souterrain’s in the vicinity rather than stand alone at a bus stop.
I only had time to see what was shown below the site of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). One proposal caught my eyes more than others: a series of photographs titled Transpose by Jean-François Bouchard. They were studio portraits shot somewhat like publicity photos but they showed certain humanity. Besides the large photos, small cards were posted with excerpts from interviews with each person. It turned out all the models were in the course of a gender redefinition.
As there was plenty of white space between the photos, I figured I could make a portrait alongside one of them. I chose Isaac’s portrait.
There aren’t many people using the corridor where Transpose was hung on week-ends and didn’t want to approach someone rushing by without giving a glance to the portraits. I had to wait awhile before someone paused near the photo. I’d say I waited about twenty minutes before Irving and Amanda stopped. It turned out they were unaware of the festival but were trying to find the spot pin-pointed as “Underground City” by the map on their cell. Friends had suggested it as a meeting point.
They are from Connecticut and were in town for a week-end visit. They weren’t too sure how they would eventually find their friends but were pretty relaxed about the whole thing. We chatted a bit. I learned that Amanda works for a major fashion retailer while Irving has worked in accounting for some time but is currently enjoying a professional break.
They kindly accepted to have their portrait taken in the context of Art Souterrain before resuming their quest.
If you wish to know more about the festival and the artist go to
www.artsouterrain.com/en/home/
www.jfbouchardphoto.com/projects/album/transpose
This photo is part of my 100 strangers project. Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the 100 Strangers Flickr Group page www.flickr.com/groups/100strangers/