From the series, Gender is a Drag, a photo and video based work that explores and expands the space of non-binary gender. These photograph are part of a body of work comprised of videos and stills documenting the transformations I undergo due to taking hormones. There are also videos in which I discuss various topics related to gender in general, gender theory, my own experience and concepts that I am researching in conjunction with this work. Being white, able-bodied and often viewed as masculine, allows me to remain relatively safe as a non-binary person. I am in a position where I can use my privilege to make more space for non-binary and gender non-conforming people.
With the increasingly popularized use of “they” as a non-binary gendered singular pronoun, people are becoming aware that not everyone fits neatly under the pronoun she or he. Rather than being excited by the possibility of new ways of being, when met with expansive forms of self-expression (i.e. people who are gender non-conforming and/or non-binary, and/or non-binary trans) most people are frightened and / or enraged by the existence of people who present identities that have not been authorized by dominant culture. We see this regularly in with the rights for trans bathroom bills, with the murder of gender non-conforming people and violence and hate crimes perpetrated against non-binary people.
