A Word For Studs and AGs

Okay, this post is definitely going to constitute more than a word or two. There might even be a rant involved, though I'm gonna try to keep my head clear.

One of the most compelling factors to push me forward in this photo project came when I was working on a tribute for Sakia Gunn. Around the same time, Patreese Johnson and the six Black lesbians who accompanied her to NYC in August were convicted of "gang assault," amongst various other charges.

Patreese, who is 19, has been convicted of first-degree assault. The attempted murder charge against her was dropped, but first-degree assault carries the same potential sentence.

I'm looking at all that, and feeling completely gutted, when the Village Voice runs that wholly ridiculous article, "Girls to Men." Along with the article, there is a gallery of images, by photographer David Yellen. The pictures aren't bad, if you like studio sets with paper backdrops and conventional lighting. The captions are what really annoyed me.

I know the communities have been outraged over this article. I feel that. I know a lot of good people are working to make a positive difference out of something so harshly inflammatory.

What I don't know is what that photographer said, what he promised, what he proposed, to earn the trust it took to have the AGs featured in that gallery pose for him.

I do know everyone's mad about it. Hell, I'm mad about it.

And yes, I've extended an invitation to studs and AGs to participate in my photo project.

I want you all to hear me now, when I say, clearly and with absolute certainty: I do not misrepresent anyone in my work.

You come to me, you get what you want. If you don't like an image I've selected for inclusion in my web gallery, that image is simply not seen by the public, evah.

Let's make a positive difference. It matters.

~Emmanuela

So, I Started a Photo Project . . .

Several years ago, I began photographing butches, studs, and transpersons who were my lovers, my friends. All were first-time models; few wanted their images publicly displayed on the internet. I have a great repository of photos I cannot include in my public portfolio, in respect for the subjects.

Eventually, people began coming to me by referrals from friends. These new subjects actually wanted to create a new sense of visibility for the non-traditional types of masculinity they represented and with which they identified. I was able to begin building a small public gallery dedicated to my love of butches, studs, AGs, and masculine-identified trans persons . . . but my work was still local.

So I put out an open call to the various LGBTIQ communities. The responses have been overwhelming and, despite the fact that I work on the East Coast of the U.S., there is considerable interest from the West Coast and Canada.

As a femme, I can't pretend to know realties other than my own. All I can do is respect each person who wishes to participate.

The project is worthy, because the focus is on those too often unseen, willfully misinterpreted, ridiculed, and reviled. I want to be a part of changing that.

Read more about the particulars for this work by following the link on this page.

~Emmanuela