Flavie Eidel
patreon
TDOV 2019 - Conclusion
🕑 Added 2019-04-25 17:00:02 +0000 UTCHey!
I was sure I published this article about Trans Day Of Visibility a while ago, but I think Patreon ate it alive, so I'm happy to rewrite it :)
If you didn't see the previous articles (don't hesitate to check them out!), for Trans Day of Visibility I offered my services as a photographer to trans/non binary people. I've heard and read a lot that image is something trans and non binary people often struggle with, mostly because of transphobic, sexist and capitalist social pressure.
Also, transgender people often face economical issues. To learn more about it, you can download "Paying an Unfair Price: The Financial Penalty for Being Transgender in America" that paints a stark portrait of the economic insecurities that leave transgender people with high rates of unemployment and poverty. Transgender Americans face clear financial penalties simply because they are transgender and are left economically vulnerable because of two primary failures of law:
- Pervasive discrimination and a lack of legal protections mean that transgender people struggle to find work and safe housing, face challenges updating critical identity documents, make less on the job, and have higher medical costs than their non-transgender peers.
- Failure to adequately protect transgender students means that transgender people and their families often face a hostile, unsafe, or unwelcoming school environments. Harassment, bullying, and violence can make it difficult, if not impossible, for transgender students to obtain the skills and education they need to succeed.So I thought that TDOV was the perfect occasion to share my skills and hopefully help a bit with this issue many people face.
About the photoshoot, as I already said it, I think I prepared it a little bit late ans I wasn't perfectly organized, but I still managed to find 1 person every hour for 6 hours.
It was my first time doing that many photoshoots in one day and I have to say: I loved it!
The photoshoots were obviously not styled, we had to deal with natural light and most of my models never posed before. But that equation is actually a big reason of why this day was so special.
I loved seeing them opening up to me, but especially to themselves. It was their moment, and I think it was well deserved. I got the chance to hear little pieces of their stories, their point of view, their experiences and that makes me a super lucky woman.
I got to meet amazing people that I still in contact with for some of them, help them out a little, and it gave me the opportunity to make sure non binary/trans people are even more represented in my portfolio now, since I think representation is something extremely important, and especially in art.
I cannot wait to put together some secret (and less secret) photoshoots about gender and especially trans identity.
Have an excellent week and I get back to you asap!
