An interview with singer/songwriter Namoli Brennet, who describes past performances in pigtails and a five-o’clock shadow.

Submitted by N, one of the models.

“I’m the little girl on the right: back the end of the 90’s, I stumbled into my childhood friend’s neighbour’s house. The little boy there loved to go around in a dress and had a matching one, so her mother gave us a snack, had me try the extra dress on, and gave me a Polaroid of this moment – back when those instant pictures were novelty. It’s now a cherished treasure.”

Cat wrote…

As a linguistics major, I tend to think about gender in the same way as what’s referred to in my field as an idiolect—no two forms of self-expression are the same and even when there’s a theme, everyone has their own variants shaped by unique life experiences.

What’s your experience?

And what are you thinking about gender right now?

Y:2 Day 242: Enter to exit, originally uploaded by Junxs.

Main Character, originally uploaded by The Forks The Lap The Fur.

Kyle asks…

Is it odd that the genderqueer woman in me has a bit of a crush on the genderqueer man?

Please post your response in the comments below.

» Ask Genderfork «

You can call me… Eren; just because I like the way it sounds.

I identify as… androgynous, queer, not Asian, not American, but Asian American (I proudly embrace that), an artist at heart, a music nut and a photographer.

As far as third-person pronouns go, … it doesn’t really matter to me. Most people use female ones, anything else makes me smile because it means I’m not just the “standard” female in the eyes of others.

I’m attracted to… androgynous, genderfucking, confident female-bodied women; that’s what my body chemistry tells me, anyway. I like to say smiles, artists, passionate, expressive, and intelligent people, undercuts and ‘STACHES! Yes, please.

When people talk about me, I want them to… question things; to stop assuming what I am, and to be open to other’s ideas.

I want people to understand… that there is no such thing as normal, that there is no forever, and change is inevitable; just embrace the present and learn to love it all. At the end of the day, we’re all just human.

About Eren.
Californian native that’s currently trying to survive somewhere in East Asia. Enjoys audio, visual, technology, nature, cycling, reading. You can go to http://sheepbun.tumblr.com/ for stalking purposes or if you have some good music to recommend.

» Define yourself. «

go do still, originally uploaded by iamjonsi.

Jónsi of Sigur Rós.

Someone wrote…

Everyone wants me to choose a “side” as fast as possible. Unfortunately, even the genderqueer/pansexual folks I know. Nobody can stand that I’m not sure, that I’m “still exploring,” still growing. In this case, I don’t perceive the absence of a binary, it’s simply mutated. This feels like the worst position to be in, but the hardest to find an honest escape from.

What’s your experience?

And what are you thinking about gender right now?

Hey Everyone,

So, this is kinda awkward.

Someone recently contacted us via one of our submission forms, asking that we not run their profile.

Problem is, all they gave us was their first name (it started with “F”), and we have several profiles in our submission pile under that first name. It wouldn’t really be fair to remove them all because those other people still want to show up on the site.

So… to the person who recently made that request: can you contact us again? This time, give us some more identifying info about your profile, so we can figure out which one was yours? If you included an email address, that would help, too.

We totally want to respect your privacy and remove it from the submission piles. We just need a little more help.

Thanks!

~Sarah

Submitted by Cassandra Lewis, the photographer.

“a portrait i took of one beautiful genderqueer in my life.”

A Gendered Performance , originally uploaded by Antonio De Lucci Photo.

Heart Attack, originally uploaded by melissarobinphoto.

A reader recommends…

The Rice Rockettes are an all-Asian drag troupe that I think is super awesome, since we often associate gender play with whiteness. This boing boing article has some thoughtful coverage of one of the members: The Birthing of Estee Longah

» Recommend something. «

You can call me… dude, bro, ishi, fishy, eidhnan, cracker, booger, ivypants.

I identify as… a human. a dork. a language geek. a tranny fag. queer. genderqueer. androgynous. short.

As far as third-person pronouns go, … i like the gender-neutral ones. if i have to choose from within the gender binary, i’m more of a he than a she.

I’m attracted to… tranny boys, androgynous bike-riding queer punks, intelligence, creativity, book-worms, elf-like tree people…

When people talk about me, I want them to… try not to make assumptions or judgements, and i’ll do the same for them.

I want people to understand… we’re all human, all worthy of dignity and respect and happiness. we’re all made of the same stuff. we’re all divine. my gender presentation does not define me. my sexual organs do not define me. only my spirit defines me.

About Dude
i am a spirit encased in flesh and so are you.

» Define yourself. «

Submitted by anonymous.

Someone wrote…

I’m so sick of being in drag every day of my life.

What’s your experience?

And what are you thinking about gender right now?

Juliette Lewis, originally uploaded by Jørn Veberg.

Dolly Haas, originally uploaded by Truus, Bob & Jan too!.

Stage and screen actress Dolly Haas (1910-1994) was popular in the 1930’s as a vivacious, red-haired gamine often wearing trousers in German and British films. She was born in Germany to British-Austrian parents. Trained in ballet, Dolly had her first public dance performance at age 7. In 1930 the famous director Max Reinhardt offered her an engagement and in the same year she made her film debut as a singing and dancing doll in Eine Stunde Glück (1930, Wilhelm Dieterlich; the later William Dieterle). The title of her second film, Dolly macht Karriere (1930, Anatole Litvak), seemed prophetically for her future. While she continued her stage career as dancer, singer, and streetwise girl, in her films she often embodied a delicate and lovely child-woman who is superior to her male partners because of her wit and energy. She often acted in a ‘Hosenrolle’ like in Liebescommando (1932), where she played a girl who masquerades as her brother in order to join the military academy. Anti-semitic protests followed the premiere of Das hässliche Mädchen (1933, Hermann Kosterlitz). It came to riots against her Jewish partner Max Hansen and the names of the Jewish Kosterlitz (the later Henry Koster) and writer Felix Joachimson (later Felix Jackson) were taken off the credits.

After the rise of Nazism Dolly Haas went with her first husband, the director Hans Brahm (later John Brahm), to England. She again donned trousers for Girls Will Be Boys (1934, Marcel Varnel). It involved her getting work at the all-male estate of a mysogynistic duke. Only when she is saved from drowning while swimming in the nude is her gender revealed. She played in two more British films, including Broken Blossoms (1936, John Brahm), a remake of the silent masterpiece by D.W. Griffith. In 1936 she signed a contract with Columbia, but after an 18-month wait for the right role, she returned to the stage in New York. As of 1943 she had a successful Broadway career and thereafter also sporadically appeared on television. Her only major movie role was in the high-profile I Confess (1953, Alfred Hitchcock), where she played with O. E. Hasse an artist couple whose emigration to the US ends in tragedy. In real life her second husband was famous caricaturist Al Hirschfeld and they remained happily married until her death in 1994. Her last screen appearance was in the documentary Dolly, Lotte und Maria (1987, Rosa von Praunheim).

Sources: The Guardian, Cyranos.ch, German Continental Strangers (Datmouth.edu), Wikipedia and IMDB.

German postcard by Ross Verlag, nr. 8157/1. Photo: Walther Jaeger, Berlin.

A reader recommends…

Based on the true-life story of a Thai who wishes to have a sex change operation. To pay for this, she enters the brutal world of Thai boxing, unnerving her opponents by performing a makeup application ritual before each fight.

» Recommend something. «