Untitled
fall 2010
Sex and gender are two different things. Sex is a biology term, distinguishing male from female based upon reproductive organs and structures, while gender is psychology, referring to the socially constructed roles and characteristics that society considers appropriate for men and women.
My pictures are of people, my friends, who don't quite belong to their appropriate gender, by society's terms. Essentially, girls that are like boys and boys that are like girls. I thought viewers would find them interesting, if they aren't used to being around them much. And they ARE, they are all very interesting people. It was cool because no one had to dress up for the photo shoots (except the boys, of course; boys and their makeup!), because all the models really are basically unsatisfied with their god-given sex, or at least the cultural norms for it. These girls are often kinda masculine, either sometimes or most of the time. And these boys are often kinda feminine (and sometimes REALLY feminine). And it's more than just the way they dress, those that suffer from what is an actual DIAGNOSABLE psychologic disorder (!), 'gender identity disorder.' “Gender -- being male or female -- is a basic element that helps make up an individual's personality and sense of self. Gender identity disorder is a condition in which a male or female feels a strong identification with the opposite sex.” See? Stolen straight from webmd.com. And yeah, it DOES suck sometimes. To be uncomfortable in your own body, and have people look at you oddly everywhere you go, and to be expected to dress and act and live in a manner that you just don't identify with. But I think it's probably more common than people tend to think. And luckily, we live in a time and place where we as individuals are allowed to choose what we wear, who we hang out with, and what we do, though it hasn't been very long since it WASN'T okay, not at all. In fact, it wasn't even thirty years ago that people thought homosexuality was a disease, too.
I wanted the pictures to be light-hearted, because I mean, come on, it IS kinda funny. There was a bit of theatricality involved; scenes were conceptualized and then acted out, exaggerated to the level of parody. I overemphasized stereotypes to make it obvious to the viewer the point I was trying to make, my objective in creating this series, which was essentially to document this subculture and tell its story in a visually appealing manner that viewers would find interesting. A less obvious but more important objective was to call attention to the fact that not everyone fits into the molds our society has created for the female or male individual, and that there is really no reason they should have to. However, because society as a whole remains generally close-minded and unforgiving, those who don't fit into the conventional gender roles continue to be treated differently, even discriminated against.
I debated with myself, for months, even, whether or not to call the series “Untitled.” I like it because it describes the subjects (as in, neither Ms. nor Mr.) as well as making reference to the many photographs and pieces of art that go by the same name. This is also what I disliked about it, because it IS very ambiguous, and made even more so by its frequency of use in art already. However, the pros outweighed both the cons and the alternatives, so, “Untitled” it is.
