Trans Joy
Cedar S.
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Trans joy: (n) A feeling of freedom or happiness in relation to one's own transness or gender euphoria. Beauty products are insanely gendered, and beauty expectations are often unrealistic and damaging. I wanted to encapsulate this with the subjects in the background. Personal hygiene products are often blue and white, promoting feelings of freshness and cleanliness, but the cosmetic and beauty industries are dirty and unsustainable. The purple and yellow on the testosterone vial stand out in the same way it often feels for me in a crowd of people. I’m constantly labeled as an outsider or as an “other”. My goal was to capture the beauty and messiness of being trans. I wanted to convey some of the feelings that I feel every day as a trans person, thinking about my place in this world. Often, there is so much pressure to conform because that’s the expectation yet conformity takes an immense amount of energy and effort. This photo is the fina photo from a series where I tried to tell a story of transformation using still lifes rather than relying on a human subject to convey the emotion.
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To me creativity is a way to let go of barriers and allowing myself to create something without expectations. I can explore and whatever I end up creating takes me on a journey, and that in and of itself is freeing and what I create.
