TLDR: Reclaim. Celebrate. Trans / Non binary / Queer bodies. Visual Activism Project.
Where it all began.
This is a project that I’ve been working on for a little while now…its what made me want to start blogging in the first place. Years later, and its finally here.
I wanted to look specifically at the bodies of AFAB ( assigned female at birth) / trans / non binary / queer people of colour, and how we seek to reclaim our bodies which are often fetishised / made to feel not valid/ as deserving a place in society/the media as the bodies our white counterparts.
It’s partly inspired by Joelle A. Owusu’s essay A Black Girls Enlightenment in Nasty Women, Kortney Ziegler’s essay, Black Sissy Masculinity and the Politics of Dis-respectability in No Tea No Shade: New writings in Black Queer Studies where she talks about how the symbolic appropriation of feminised masculinities by black women can transform dominant notions of black sexuality and gender, and by Deborah J Cohen writings on how ‘women’s’ bodies ( I’m interested in relating this to the experiences of trans and gender non conforming folx here) are contested terrain in public space, how breasts, and especially nipples are both hyper sexualised and repressed -seen as titillating and met with disgust ( see any continued debate about nursing babies in public) at the same time.
I set out to highlight the complex relationships ( liberation / shame / celebration) non binary and trans folks of colour have with our bodies - but soon realised what I was doing was looking at the complex relationships we all have with our bodies, that goes beyond race / gender identity.
Mostly It’s about regaining a sense of connection, agency, and pride in our bodies when we’ve previously been made to feel shame.
This project is for all of us who have been made to feel ashamed, it’s for those trans folk who transition, are transitioning, it’s for those trans folk who aren’t but are still valid. It’s to celebrate all our bodies as they are, as we age, as we change, and are becoming maybe the people we’ve always been but were too afraid celebrate. It’s to celebrate ourselves, on our own terms, which doesn’t happen enough.
I’m still looking for collaborators and models, if you’d like to get involved please DM me. Trans / NB people of colour very welcome.
I realise all this is far too long for the internet but i'm only finally (but nervously) joining the 21st century…
Happy December all.
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