It’s already July, and as usual, I am scrambling around trying to come up with genderneutral/genderbending Halloween costume inspiration. (I am pretty crafty, so I usually start early and go all-out.) I could go as something trite like a ghost or a skeleton, but those are very run-of-the-mill. I could also stick to the staples of going as a concept/item like a bunch of grapes, but I am sick of being inanimate objects/concepts to avoid being strictly a man or a woman; just because I want a neutral costume doesn’t mean I am less of a person.
Submitted by Emma Robinson, the model and editor. Photography by Joey Sauer.
“I’m posing as the Femme fatale for a film project despite being fairly gender confused on a frequent basis (sometimes I wear dresses but mostly I wear pants, and sometimes I feel male and sometimes female, and I love being mistaken for a boy). We had our Femme fatale as masculine-presenting to add a different kind of twist to our plot.”
Any day could be the day that I stumble across my true identity, whether it’s female or male or something in between, and while I look forward to that day with hope, I also shrink from it in fear.
As far as third-person pronouns go, … you can call me dude, bro, man, or girl chick woman. I don’t care, really.
I’m attracted to… women. Girly, girly women, but not high maintenance though. Just really pretty, you know?
When people talk about me, I want them to… mention how cute I am.
I want people to understand… that I don’t want to be a boy, but I really don’t want to be a girl. I’m stuck in between, but leaning more towards man. It’s just some things that I like about being a girl.
About Mary or Mike
Hey, I like Asian chicks and anime. ;) My name is Mary Elizabeth but you can call me Pong! Candy is my lover. Bye now.
“This image explores gender identity and fluidity. Though the model identifies as femme, she often chooses to play with gender through her drag persona, Roberto.”
I have so many things that others don’t and I still feel unhappy. How is it that a year ago I didn’t care that people called me by my birth name but now I cringe each time? I want to be out at work but don’t know how…
“It’s a beautiful snapshot of current issues, struggles and strengths of transexual, transgender, and gender fluid parents (and parents to be) in North America today.”
“Cut my hair / Keep it clean / Cut my hair / Make it obscene / Slash the ends / Curb the side / Make amends / Change the tide / Don’t care to style / just trim the life / chew the strife off / worth my while / hack the side / don’t look back / make it nice / don’t look back / say it thrice / don’t look back / change my life / and don’t look back / ‘09”
The cast of the documentary TransBeats performs “Changes”: Amber Taylor, Angelica Ross, D’Loco Kid, Keith Caputo, Our Lady J, Shawna Virago, Sissy Debut, StormMiguel Florez
Submitted by Mariah a.k.a. Cahira, the model and photographer.
“After several years of struggling with my gender identity I finally discovered the right word, androgynous. So I freed myself away from being gender neutral/girly by cutting my navel-long hair short. I finally gave birth to my true inner self. I no longer have to choose; I am both!”
I had one of those conversations with my parents. These are always upsetting, and my father seemed surprised that I still hold a grudge for the two times he called me a “dyke” when my gender presentation leaned more male. How do I let something like that go? What do you do when your parents say that they love you, but you feel like what they’re really saying is, “I only love part of you”?
Submitted by Stephen or Spence, the model and photographer.
“I never subscribed to traditional masculinity. I was born with facial birth defects, so doctors reconstructed a bone structure, which confuses strangers. I see more feminine than masculine when I look in the mirror. I feel more alive when I am true to my inclinations of androgyny. I like challenging social institutions and the dichotomy of gender.”
I identify as… a lesbian with a detached attraction to gay men having sex. As in, I wouldn’t want to be one or join in, but I am by no means opposed to watching.
As far as third-person pronouns go, … she, her.
I’m attracted to… girls whose personalities are pretty gender-neutral and similar (but not too close) to mine. I like girls with nice, curvy bodies, and I have an inexplicable weakness for redheads and gingers.
When people talk about me, I want them to… do it tastefully. I’m open to criticism, but baseless insults are just silly and juvenile.
I want people to understand… that I don’t mind their mistakes, and I won’t ever get angry unless I see someone being personally attacked and/or provoked.
About Bella
I have a big, loving family and am overall pretty happy. I can’t wait to find the right girl, and when I do, I’ll give her all of me, even if it means getting hurt again. I dye my hair too much and I spend too much time on the internet. I am also called a ‘Grammar Nazi’ on occasion. But I don’t mind.
“Lately, I’ve started wearing an equal symbol where my wedding ring will hopefully be one day. It is my way of telling the world that I believe two people who love each other should be able to marry, no matter what their gender is.”
“By day, I am a menswear/accessories designer. Artistically I’ve been working with self-portraiture to define rules of grammar and language and personally, to work through my own genderqueer issues/feelings of being born in the wrong body. I definitely do not identify as female and am still exploring where on the gender-identity spectrum I can find peace with my suit of meat.
Illustrated Language Primer. Lesson One.
Tense: Future Perfect. The future perfect tense is used to describe an event that has not yet happened but is expected or planned to happen before another stated occurrence.”
For the first time ever, I got the haircut I wanted, a men’s cut. That night, someone called me sir. I felt like I was really presenting genderqueer, and was so happy. Then I went to visit my hometown. None of my old friends thought anything was different. Now I can’t see myself the way I was seeing myself at all. When i look in the mirror, i just look like a girl with short hair.
