feeling very tender sharing this self portrait series exploring the medicalization of trans identities and the encroaching and constricting pressure to “transition.” I renounce origins and destinations, embracing alchemy, self-creation, and existing comfortably in liminal spaces.
I’m a Black non-binary photographer in Brooklyn. On Dec. 13, I invited 8 Black queer and trans folks to a studio day (no overlap of guests, COVID tested beforehand, shared surfaces disinfected between shoots) to execute 8 completely different shoots. Here’s how they turned out:
this non-Black gay man walked up to me, cuts me off mid-conversation and (completely unsolicited) says “you are soooo beautiful! you look like tinashe, fka twigs, aaliyah, and bree runway” and i was like “oh, uh that’s a lot of Black women who look nothing alike 🥴”
Devin-Norelle (ze/zem) is a writer, model, trainer, and trans advocate. Leading up to the shoot we discussed how as a trans masc person, ze is often boxed into masculine roles. “I'm at a constant intersection of masculine and feminine. I love playing with feminine looks.”
Jessica had sent me a handful of bold, gelled images and told me to interpret however I liked. “I just thought the lighting was beautiful”
The above images were inspired by a photo by
@mrjunayd
(pictured below), we added our own spin of course. We also shot two other color ways:
Last but certainly not least is Gylanni(
@queermessyah
), who came to be with hands down the most fleshed out concept, who laid out a follow-up to a project they actualized last year featuring themes of marriage, lost love, and florals.
James is an artist and performer, whose new music focuses on beholding one’s own beauty. They wanted images that would showcase their glam persona, but with an air of drama and mystique. Beat by
@SterlingTull
&
@Witchbitchpari
Chala is a writer, chef, descendant of Texarkansans, and a self-described gender abolitionist. They wanted headshots for their writing bio that underscored these identities. “Real cowboys not only respect the land, but fight for Indigenous land return and stewardship.”
Joelle’s favorite color is red (the color that our ancestors can see—the color of blood) and in celebration of their birthday they wanted portraits with rich tones set on a red backdrop as a celebration of their life, joy, passion, and vitality.
Walesca told me that her style was glamorous and eclectic, and compared her aesthetic to editorial images of Solange. After a COVID false positive and with an few hour’s notice, we quickly threw these two together. “That’s the beauty of believing in your power.”
i actually don’t subscribe to the term food desert because it is too passive about how grocery stores refuse to ppe locations in Black and brown neighborhoods; it is active and systematic. a more accurate expression is food apartheid.
reaching the big age of 32 as a Black trans femme is such an important accomplishment, looking forward to existing gloriously in my trans body, becoming and experiencing the divine, and centering joy and pleasure in all things 🌟
so many people are hurting today. not just women. please keep in your thoughts, demands, rallying cries, and policies the many trans, non-binary, gender non-conforming, and intersex people for whom this devastating news lands atop the active anti-trans campaigns nationwide
Anyone who follows this artist please go unfollow her page and report it for hate speech. She literally created a series about womanhood, and the first one is a portrait of J. K. Rowling. In the caption, she aligns herself with trans exclusionary radical feminism,
@punkboifriend
it’s not the whole city. certain neighborhoods (guess which) don’t have grocery stores because they intentionally were not built there. instead they have bodegas and dollar trees. it’s historic ofc but still actively happening
the reason juneteenth being declared a federal holiday doesn't sit with me at all is because Black folks largely occupy jobs that don't get federal holidays off. white folks are about to get the day off to patron restaurants, shops, etc. to wish Black workers "happy Juneteenth!"
I’m a Black queer non-binary photographer in Brooklyn! In late March I invited six Black trans folks to a studio day (with layers of COVID precautions taken) to create images based on six completely different concepts. Here’s how it went 🥺
To Sara Baartman, with love. The original Venus before the intervention of European colonialism, the ripples of whose story continues to frame our understanding of colonial and imperial relationships to Black femme bodies. Honoring everything she endured, her life, and legacy 💛
If like me you’re in nyc and have been trying to find an alternative to Uber for its atrocious labor practices, this is it!! Not only is it driver owned, which should be reason enough to make the switch, I’ve found rides to be significantly cheaper than Uber. I’m sold
Unpopular opinion, but I love to see white women giving one another a global platform to tell on themselves. Archive these videos and pull them out when a white woman tries to weaponize her tears.
White supremacy will always protect itself. It's unsurprising that a system rigged in favor of white men, indeed created with the express intention of not only validating racial peril, but encouraging (and lionizing) territorial white male violence, has ruled in favor of itself.
BREAKING: The jury found Kyle Rittenhouse not guilty of all homicide and other charges for killing 2 people and wounding 1 with an assault-style weapon.
unmasking, a reflection on the many ways my Black trans femme body exists as a site of constant struggle, with masking being a necessary but taxing survival tactic, demanding my performance of many projections of the self
@LilNasX
so once again you’re responding with spite and vitriol instead of engaging with the very valid criticism coming from an actual trans person. AND you’re cool with your fans harassing and sending threats to a Black trans woman who named the ways your apology fell short. okay
there’s no such thing as quiet quitting. you come to work, you do your job, and you go home. that’s literally the definition of working a job. quiet quitting exists as a term to justify disciplinary action against people not giving their soul to capitalism
denies that trans women are women, and disparages trans people of all varieties while espousing the same tired bioessentialist and misogynistic narratives about women and trans people alike.
Disgusted and disappointed, but never surprised.
I think we can finally lay the candy corn discourse to rest. If your favorite fall treat is officially endorsed by the NYPD, you might be on the wrong side of history.
dune was hands down one of the worst films i’ve seen in recent memory, a sick, unfiltered colonial fantasy, and a vaguely middle eastern, noble savage, magical negro, white savior, messiah complex smut film. how i wish i had done my research before watching.
This collab with
@BHawkSnipes
(they/them) was a long time coming! "I had a totally different idea of what I wanted going into this shoot, but when I got on set those ideas evolved into something bigger. Two powerful creative forces making timeless Black Queer/Trans magic"
"This bubblegum, cotton candy moment is a true testament to my inner child who always wanted to embody all things fabulous and feminine. A Black Barbie. A Bratz doll. I look like you could take me right out of a box, play with me, and be astounded by how super cute I am...
Eva (
@msevareign
; she/her) came open to trusting me for creative direction to create this warm, opulent fantasy. “These photos illustrate a grace I didn’t know I could even possess. When I look at them, I’m reminded of my own power and reaffirmed in my beauty.”
For Jamie (
@ItsJamieLee9
; she/her), this shoot evokes the words of Audre Lorde's poem Coal: "I am black because I come from the earth's inside / Take my word for jewel in your open light."
This Aries concept was brought to me by my frequent collaborator
@Witchbitchpari
(they/them) "Aries season is a great time for rebirth, change, and starting a new with bravery, candor, and strategic impulses guiding you to your new destination." ♈️
so once again
@LilNasX
responding with spite and vitriol instead of engaging with the very valid criticism coming from an actual trans person. AND is cool with your fans harassing and sending threats to a Black trans woman who named the ways your apology fell short. okay
one thing about being a non-binary photographer is that i really don't feel like i fit in to spaces curated for Black men or Black women photographers. i really need a space specifically for Black trans creators and i need it yesterday
Ashley Diamond, a black trans woman and prisoner rights activist without health insurance is trying to raise a funds to get emergency healthcare.
If any of you are feeling generous, her cash app is $Ashisjem !
On Jan 6, I’ll be joining a group of Black trans organizers going to Cuba part of which includes providing material support to our siblings there. I’m looking for any support to purchase crucial items—see below!
V€nmo:
@Alex
-Webster
C£shapp: $lexicon91
trans femmes: when you are looking t to start laser PLEASE look for spas running sales. i’ve been doing laser hair removal for the past year and i’ve never spent more than $35 per session at my place in nyc because i buy/refill when there are sales. DM me and i can send more info
@itsshania00
Of course! I shoot with a canon 5D Mark iv and then all of these were shot with different lenses, but mainly the 24-70mm f/2.8, the 100mm macro f/1.8, and the 70-200mm f/2.8. I also used the prism fx dream filter in some of these 🥰
i need men to stop signing up to do grocery delivery. why the hell did this man try to replace vegan meatballs with chicken alfredo? nigga, what? how are those things alike 😭
y’all the way i keep getting señorita’d in mexico no mask on, adam’s apple fully visible, no makeup, not dressing high femme 😭😭 it’s the respect for me
shot my biggest campaign to date and my friend/assistant snapped these photos of me on set with the lighting I designed—I never get in front of the camera so these mean a lot to meeee 😩
no shade, but a lot of these gorls y’all are posting with the
#FashionInspo
for
#NYFW
aren’t even turning looks, they just skinny. many of them wearing what looks to be unfinished garments.
...Loving myself and showcasing that was also a major inspiration. When you’re comfortable in your skin, you'll always win. You owe it yourself as a Black trans person to live in your truth and to stand firm in who you are. I vow to do just that." —
@LIQUORICEBlTCH
(they/them)
This project is a huge labor of love—I paid for space, props, created mood boards for each person, built sets, brought in a hair/makeup team (mentioned above), all to create a space for healing and celebration of Black trans joy. These images are so special to me. Please enjoy🖤
if you’re sexually active and living in brooklyn, I just learned that the Fort Greene sexual health clinic offers rapid HIV, 24 hour results for gonorrhea/chlamydia, 2-3 day results on syphilis. the clinic is completely free and the fastest I’ve heard of an nyc.
#knowyourstatus
Our love letter to Sara Baartman, to everyone who is fat, Black, and femme, to Black girls who have been told their bodies are too much, whose bodies refuse to contort and conform to anti-Black, fatphobic, and colonial standards of beauty. You are the blueprint
no but like also we have to talk about how the colonial fetishism, how in white men’s conceptions of the future they stand on the bodies of countless Black/Native people to become their liberator, all to extract Indigenous wisdom and become the next imperial powerhouse
no shade, but a lot of these gorls y’all are posting with the
#FashionInspo
for
#NYFW
aren’t even turning looks, they just skinny. many of them wearing what looks to be unfinished garments.
so close. everyone should have access to housing and groceries because they are human rights, not because they are willing/able to work a full time job
It’s not radical to believe that in the United States of America, that everyone who works full-time should be able to afford their rent and groceries with their paycheck alone.
@mxlunaphoto
@JRayyyyy
I’m non-binary, but not everyone involved was ☺️ The studio day was open to all Black queer or trans* folks (flyers for the event attached)
Re: lighting—I could probably diagram all of the lighting setups given enough time! I’m fairly certain I remember all of them 💛
it’s super weird how normalized christian hegemonic power & religious extremism is in united states… like wym we can’t have rights because this small radical reformist sect of christianity’s interpretation of ancient mistranslated texts doesn’t allow it 😒🥴
tell me why i went to 3db last night & a bartender *completely* ignored me (averted his gaze, pretended to not see me) and served every white boy before me and when i said “hey i’ve been waiting longer than these other folks” he wags his finger and goes “i need you to calm down”
i showed this to my partner and they said "oh bitch animorphs is what made me realize i was a transsexual—i knew i wanted to be a shapeshifter" 😭😭😭 i'm fucking screamingggg. also, same.
a college student i recently met asked me how old i turned on my birthday, which was on sunday, and i told him “31.” he looked me up and down and said “wow, Black really doesn’t crack.” ??? PLEASE what do y’all expect people in their 30s to look like 😭
my
@canva
collection is live! i’m so grateful for the opportunity to image my community in this way and for visuals of Black trans people to be given a platform like this to connect with one another all around the world 🥺 photos here:
had to go private because of harassment from terfs 🙄 also, why is their go-to insult that i'm a "man"? babes, i was (incorrectly) called a man for the majority of my life, i'm pretty desensitized at this point lol