Strike a pose, originally uploaded by kakilino78.

second boyfriend. 15/14, originally uploaded by hopeenvylovedeath.

sena with shovel, originally uploaded by land and cinders.

, originally uploaded by Linden Tea.

Yuki 3, originally uploaded by yukifujita.

02, originally uploaded by em hunt [capturedstill photos].

DSC_0149, originally uploaded by jhigg04.

bad girls 15859-15874s, originally uploaded by siècle rebelle.

breathe again, originally uploaded by mohawk.

Molly, originally uploaded by hopeenvylovedeath.

Day 121 – Bad Education, originally uploaded by margolove.

Self Portrait, originally uploaded by musicprodigy135.

Molly 011-1, originally uploaded by cosmic_chef.

amy, originally uploaded by e p i t a.

I have many names.

My preferred third-person pronouns change before your eyes. None of them are right, so none of them are wrong. Just employ whichever you decide on with respect, and it’s all good.

I identify as a great number of things to a great many people at any given time. Painted in broad strokes, “Black, proletariat, polyamorous, pansexual, genderqueer, butch, switch, (inner-faggot included!)” seems to hit the main highlights.

I get hot for your consent; rosy-cheeked, intellectual perverts; cougars who pin you with piercing eyes; strong, fat queers who trill gentility and daring; the smell of your sex; bois and gyrls sitting by my boots singing, “The Rainbow Connection” in falsetto; switches; femmes who coo in butch ears and cradle butch hearts; sparkly tranny-fags and sissies; that bulge in your pants; spikes in leather; rhymesayers; tow-headed blond butches who have no problems taking orders; outlaws with ethics; garters; Daddies with firm hands and strong fingers; respect; peacemakers; sweaty activists; Southern femmes who drawl; negotiation; punk rockers with knives in their boots; rivulets of blood; soldier poets for the People; seers, witches, sages, mystics, and Shaolin Monks; shape-shifters, pixies, and yetis; conversations about what turns you on; fidgety geeks in jeans and tennis shoes; your rising laughter; soft things; unapologetic sluts; the sunrise; stone people who brave sex and are okay with however they decide to play it.

It’s great when people have the self-awareness to periodically think about their own behaviors, wants, needs, and expectations and figure out where they learned them and occasionally re-evaluate, re-test, and reconsider their beliefs in light of what they have learned along the way.

I want people to understand that fundamentally we are all more alike than unalike. We all are carbon-based life forms made of atoms. We breathe, sleep, and puke on our caregivers. We cry. Neither your perfect gender nor the holdings of your bank account mean anything to me. Until humans find a way to come together that does not necessitate exclusion of others based on the arbitrary or sometimes the hereditary, until enforcement of rigid and often unattainable goals and roles by mercenary means is finally seen as an unnecessary and damaging thing to the types of social order where EVERYONE can win, there will always be people like me who walk among you harboring the refugees of misunderstood.

Thank you all for the generous feedback you have given me about Genderfork so far. (Some of you have even sent me tips and suggestions for interesting photos. That helps me out a lot — thank you!) I’m giddy with gratitude that this site has survived its first few critical months as a blog, and I can feel it starting to take on a personality of its own — something very sweet and very firey.

That personality has recently sparked up some new content, and I’m now ready to share it with you. It’s time to launch Profiles on Genderfork.

The inspiration for this undertaking came out of a workshop on Writing With and About Gender with S. Bear Bergman. We were discussing how frustrating it can be to not know how people want to be treated. A brilliant writer named Lynn Kendall suggested that we start polling or interviewing people and sharing that information online. At first I thought this was an impossible task, but then the longer I sat with it, the more it seemed reasonable and useful — and like something Genderfork could actually try to take on.

So I’ve asked some people with ambiguous gender presentations to answer a few questions about themselves:

My name is ____.

My preferred third person pronouns are ______.

I identify as _____.

I’m attracted to _____.

When people talk about me, I want them to _______.

I want people to understand _______.

Pairing these statements with a photograph of themselves, these courageous individuals are offering up a public and intimate representation of a marginalized population. I am deeply honored that they have chosen to share themselves here.

The goal of these profiles is to offer insight into how these people see themselves and how they want to be treated. They will all be different, but we will notice common threads. Some of these people will name themselves while others will prefer to remain anonymous. Some will stick to the format I suggested while others will need to break it. It’s all okay.

Anyone whose gender presentation doesn’t fully make sense to society is welcome here. If you would like to add your voice to this project, please email me: andi [at] genderfork [dot] com. I would be honored to give you a place to share your story.

And now, please straighten your bow tie and prepare your curtsy, because there’s someone very special I would like you to meet. It is with great respect and appreciation that I bring you the first profile.

Pretty Lady, originally uploaded by hopeenvylovedeath.

oups pise en flague!!, originally uploaded by siècle rebelle.

Androgyny Me, originally uploaded by Dan Motz.

a Josie @ Le Chat Noir Augusta Ga – 12012007 – 25 – size 9.5 – 3 inch Redtco slingback pumps, originally uploaded by JosieAugustaGa.