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A Series of Questions

A Series of Questions

A Series of Questions

Text JF. Pierets    Photos L. Weingarten

 

A Series of Questions is an ongoing project by photographer L. Weingarten about the questions asked to transgender, transsexual, genderqueer, and gender non-conforming people throughout the world. The subjects hold wooden signs depicting a question that each has had posed to them personally. Some by strangers, others by loved ones, friends or colleagues. Presented on these wood boards, the questions are then turned on the viewers. The idea is that the images prompt viewers to cast a reflective eye upon themselves, revealing how invasive this questioning can be.

 

Why did you choose to work on such a subject?
A Series of Questions grew out of my interest in storytelling and narrative, which is my overall focus in photography. I wanted to focus on the narrative itself in this project— the questions people were posed—and make that visible in photographs. I didn’t want to center attention on the identity, gender, or trans status of the people pictured. The project deals with the questions of transgender, transsexual, genderqueer, and gender non-conforming people as opposed to simply trans people or gender diverse people. I’ve learned that while there can be overlap, there is also a lot of distinction between each of these terms. And these distinctions vary geographically and culturally, even within the same country. Were I to say that all the people in the A Series of Questions photographs were transgender or all were gender non-conforming, I wouldn’t be being accurate or honest to their lives. While it may not be fashionable to have a laundry list of terms so to speak, I strive to ensure I’m being inclusive rather than simplifying or glossing over the incredibly wide diversity of experiences.

You’re obviously not a labels person.
I’m not interested in placing labels on the people I’ve photographed – a lot of people may do so when they see the images, and I can’t control that. But that is also what’s very interesting about this work; seeing what assumptions viewers make when presented with these images and these questions and what they believe or assume about the people in these photographs. Because the images aren’t about the gender or trans status of the people I’ve photographed. This project is about the questions they are asked and the viewers’ relationship to that sort of narrative or interrogation. I say interrogation since these questions can feel kind of aggressive when read one after the other.

Where does your interest come from? 
The project is a natural outgrowth from my interest in narratives and storytelling. I had been researching the history of Native American portrayals in American photography and how the historical images made at the turn of the century continued to shape the imagery created today. Which is kind of amazing, that images created over a hundred years ago continue to do that today. Around that time I happened to attend talks by two photographers, Zig Jackson, whose work focuses on American Indian experiences, and Loren Cameron, who documents transsexual people. Zig Jackson’s work was very influential and helpful in how I ended up developing and conceptualizing A Series of Questions— particularly his pieces about photographic tourism of Indians and stoic Indian stereotypes. Zig Jackson’s work, combined with a series of portraits I’d seen by Loren Cameron—which included text of all sorts of statements and questions people had asked—percolated for a while in my mind. Some time after these talks I began shooting experimentally for the project. I wanted to create images that functioned on their own, that had an immediate interaction with the viewer and played directly with the whole experience of questions and narrative.

Is it autobiographical?
A Series of Questions is not autobiographical, but the work is a biography of sorts of the people pictured. Each question has been personally asked of the person holding that wood sign. I don’t create the questions. Each person shares with me what question they want to use in their image; often they have a particular question in mind. I believe the questions act as windows into their lives. The viewers get glimpses of all these different conversations that have occurred. In that way in can be biographical.

 

 

‘My primary interest is in storytelling. I’m interested in exploring the nature of storytelling and narrative.’

How is your relationship with the models and how do you find them?
I often spend a few hours with each subject, talking and getting to know one another before setting out to take pictures, as well as spending time together after we’ve finished shooting. Typically I’ve already emailed with them a few times or spoken on the phone. One of my favorite experiences was going to dinner with a model after we finished shooting. We ended up staying long after closing, chatting late into the evening with the restaurant owners and their family about the politics of the day. We were all from different countries, and it was refreshing to exchange different points of view and just generally have a good time. I ended up taking a family portrait for them in the kitchen of their restaurant. Another memorable experience was photographing at a subject’s home near Christmas time. The subject’s young daughter was very excited and energetic and a friend assisting me that day, entertained her while I completed the shoot. She very much wanted to get in front of the camera, too. It was a nice atmosphere with all the joyful Christmas decorations and this bubbly little kid running around. The people in my images are found in a variety of ways, but for the most part people have contacted me through my call for participants. I have correspondences saved and organized by location for places throughout the world. When I’m traveling, I will often photograph someone who knows others in the area that are interested; a lot of connections are made through word of mouth. I’m very grateful for the amount of time my subjects spend with me, and for trusting me when they share these questions. It takes a lot to be willing to share these questions and experiences with me, let alone to be photographed, and I’m honored that they trust me with their experiences. It’s often a risk for them to share these questions with me, a stranger, and to allow themselves to be photographed. They need to feel that I will represent them honestly, without ulterior motives, and will produce their image with dignity. I strive my best to do so.

What about your other work?
My primary interest is in storytelling. I’m interested in exploring the nature of storytelling and narrative. A lot of my other work does this by drawing upon traditional tales, folklore, and mythology. Lately I’ve been very interested in exploring mythology regarding horses, and have plans to photograph horses on a local farm. The farmer has given me permission to use body-safe paint on the horses as well as altered fly masks, which are traditionally used to protect the horses from fly bites, to create costumes for the photoshoots. On and off the past few years I’ve also been working on a photographic study into the lore regarding spirits and the afterlife. Twilight is a time of evening when spirits supposedly appear, a time between day (the living) and night (the dead). It’s also called ‘the blue hour’. There’s really beautiful light at that time, if you can catch it.

A Series of Questions is an ongoing series, what would you like to achieve?
I would like to see A Series of Questions encompass a wide berth of experiences, which is why the project has been ongoing. I have only recently been able to photograph people whose questions were asked in a language other than English, and would like to continue doing so, as I travel to more countries. Funds have been the main limiting factor in expanding this project, but I am patient and in time I’ll be able to travel more extensively. I plan on continuing this body of work for several years and at this time I don’t have a final end date. I am curious to see how, or even if, the questions people are asked differ from country to country, from culture to culture, across generations, and religious and ethnic backgrounds. I’m conscious of the fact that a lot of my images thus far feature people who are white or primarily of European descent and are not as representative of people of other racial and ethnic backgrounds; I want to make sure that the A Series of Questions images are as inclusive as possible in that regard as well. It’s my goal to eventually photograph all the people who’ve contacted me with interest in participating. It will take some time, but slowly and steadily I will be able to travel more extensively. I’m currently planning a trip to Europe in 2014, hoping to revisit the Netherlands as well as travel to Belgium and France to continue photographing. I have also been reaching out to different organizations to connect with different populations, such as immigrants from Arab countries. The next exhibitions with A Series of Questions images will be in the Netherlands in October. My long-term goal is to publish a book of the images upon completion; I would love to amass several hundred images to really reflect the wide scope of experiences.

 

www.lweingarten.com

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Et Alors? magazine. A global celebration of diversity.

Buck Angel

Buck Angel

Buck Angel

Text JF. Pierets    Photos Courtesy of Buck Angel

 

Buck Angel is a female-to-male transsexual and founder of Buck Angel Entertainment. As an adult actor, he was able to create a unique niche, calling himself “The Man With a Pussy”, as he had not had any genital surgery and still possessed a vulva. In 2007 he received the AVN Award as Transsexual Performer of the Year and in April 2008 he was presented with a “Feminist Porn Award” for “Boundary Breaker of the Year”. Today, he travels the world as an inspiring advocate, educator, lecturer and writerA tête a tête with an inspiring personality. 

 

In an interview I read that you always wanted to be a man. Nowadays, your individual self is your brand. How does it feel to be looked at as something special when for you it was inevitable?
I always felt like a man, so of course I wanted to be looked at as a man. I felt this way my whole life, but so many people did not see me that way when I was younger. As I got older it made me feel horrible about myself. When I was able to change my physical appearance to match how I felt on the inside, it made me the happiest person in the world! I am so happy that now people see me for the man I am and it makes people realize that you can become whoever you want to be. Society should not put limitations on you just because they do not understand. So I like that the world views me as something special; I think this is a good thing.

Transwomen are more visible than transmen. Why do you think that is? 
Well I cannot speak for transwomen or transmen, really. I think we are all different in how we want to be visible in the world. Though I do think the visibility of transwomen has been more widespread because they have been around longer as a community. Transmen have just started to become more visible because the community is now becoming larger and more active.

You are – amongst many other things – a pornstar, an educator and a writer. Yet, there’s a very fragile glance in your eyes.
I am indeed all the above, though I’d like to think of myself more as someone who motivates people to think outside the box and to become themselves, like I have. My eyes…well I have lived through some rough times before my change. I was homeless and suicidal, and I was a drug addict. My past was sad in many ways, but I like to think that I have overcome it. Maybe my eyes still show the hurt that was in my soul for so many years? I know that this pain has helped me to have compassion for others. I feel very blessed and grateful for the happy life I have now, and I hope that I have the ability to inspire others to overcome the pain.

You just started a dating site for transmen. “Buck Angel Dating. A safe environment for those seeking out relationships or just fun with transmen and the people who love them”. What if it turns out to be a site for fetishists? Would that bother you? 
Interesting question. Why do people think that fetishizing something is bad? I am not saying that this site was intended to do that—I just opened the site for people to have a place to meet because there was clearly a lot of demand. It isn’t just for people looking to have a partner but to also for those who want to meet to have sex without having to explain their transgender status. On my dating site that is not an issue, so you can just get on with having a good time. Some people enjoy being fetishized; I do. So maybe some people will go there with that intention? You know there are some in the trans community who call themselves “activist” and they hate that I am a pornographer. They think it hurts the trans community. I think that is so sad, because my whole life changed for the better when I finally learned to love my body and have sex without feeling guilty. Many trans people feel that someone will never want have sex with them or they don’t feel sexy because their bodies are different than what society tells us is sexy and normal. My work helps to change that and show that if you love yourself (and yes, that includes sex) then others will too!

You are a pioneer and an educator. I think that comes with large responsibilities? When did you decide to talk to people about your experiences? 
You are right—it came with a bigger responsibility than I thought. I have learned so much by putting myself out there. I have had some in the trans community tell me that I am a bad person for saying things that I felt were important. But you know I think that by talking about my experiences some people (or maybe many people) can relate to me and feel less alone. I had a tough time in the beginning of my change as I had no community and no one to talk to or identify with. I think by me talking about this I can show how far I have come just because I had determination to be myself.

 

 

I hope that I have the ability to inspire others to overcome their pain.’

The other reason I feel passionate to talk and educate is because some people in the trans community say there is only one specific way to be a trans person. This makes me even more passionate and I want to help the people who are individuals and who want become their true selves, and not have to fit how the community wants them to be.

Your website reads that you are “re- defining gender and educating an entire generation on the fluidity of sexuality and identity politics.” I guess that sounds very complicated to someone who’s not into the subject matter. How would you rephrase your message to the mainstream public?
I think you are right about that. Maybe I should rephrase it for the mainstream and say something more like, “Showing you that becoming yourself and loving yourself can make you happier.” This is really the message I want to project. Since I have learned to love myself and create the body that I always wanted to have, I am so happy and comfortable with myself. It can be quite tiresome to always worry what people think of you and it can make life miserable—not just for trans people but anyone. I have all kinds of friends and fans who ask me all the time, “How can I live life like you do, without a care of what other people think?” I would always say that “Just learn to love yourself and become yourself.”

The overriding theme of your work is about self-love and acceptance. Are you a positive & optimistic person?
For sure I am! This is truly one of the keys to being happy. It took me many years to learn this but with determination and the desire not to have hate in my life, I have done it. The odd thing is that I notice the more “popular” I become, the more of a target of hate and envy I become for some in the trans community. Their hateful words kind of shock me sometimes, but I learned to not take these comments personally. I know that these people have not learned to love themselves like I have. They experience these reactions towards a person like myself who is free of that.

“A day in the life of Buck Angel”. What to expect? 
Ok, you will be shocked! I think people think I have some crazy lifestyle but really I am pretty mellow. My days are spent at my awesome home in Mexico (if I am not on the road working). I am married and have 7 rescue dogs and spend my time with them. I love to read and also workout everyday. I am also very much into health and fitness. I think this is a very important part of loving yourself.

It was great talking to you. Thank you very much and I wish you lots and lots of success.
Thank you so much for the interview and I hope that my work can help to inspire some of your readers.

 

www.buckangel.com

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Et Alors? magazine. A global celebration of diversity.