Poke a Censor in the Eye: Queer Art

[ysabetwordsmith]

I've written another "poke a censor in the eye" post, this one promoting queer art. It's my response to attacks on the Smithsonian's "Hide/Seek" exhibit.

Are you some flavor of queer? Does your crowdfunding project feature queer motifs? Are you a queer patron of the arts, or patron of queer arts? If so, here's an invitation to promote what some people would like to stamp out. Reply with a discussion and/or links, and boost the visibility of sexual diversity.

Comments

[red_trillium]

I am transgender. I haven't incorporated it into my crowdfunding or other projects yet, but have started taking some photos with a view to eventually put some sort of book together at Blurb. I don't know what yet so it's a long way off.

I can recommend this though:

Second Chance, an ebook available by John Thorp. John is an FTM who transitioned back in the 1950's in the UK. He had to leave the UK and his teaching job when the surgery became known to the press. He came to NZ and began a new life.

I read his first book, Change for Good, & found it inspirational and well written. Second Chance is about loosing his first wife, Joan, who had helped him through that tough time. It is the story of meeting and falling in love with Zella, helping her with her fight with depression and cancer.

I saw John a few years ago, when Change for Good came out. He's a quiet, wellspoken guy. He's retired and of course, every dollar counts. Check out Second Chance, there's a brief synopsis on that page, you can download a brief sample or you can buy it the electronic version for $3.99US. His profile is here.

Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

>>I am transgender. I haven't incorporated it into my crowdfunding or other projects yet, but have started taking some photos with a view to eventually put some sort of book together at Blurb. I don't know what yet so it's a long way off.<<

That sounds interesting to see.

>>I can recommend this though:<<

Wow, quite an adventure! Thanks for sharing.

Re: Thoughts

[red_trillium]

Thank you, I'm trying to figure out what I want to do with it. I don't just want to do another "oh hey I transitioned, here are before/after picts" book. There are a few of those out. I want something more me and more artistic. Still thinking about it all.....

Hmm...

[ysabetwordsmith]

Well, you are brilliant at nature photography. What in nature makes you think about transformations? I think of butterflies, cicadas, tadpoles, caves, rainbows, fiddleheads. What symbolizes feminine (rock crevices, wheat, pears, the moon) or masculine (acorns, rock spires, pine trees, lightning) energy to you? Then if you wrote a few lines about what each image means to you personally ... that would be pretty cool.

Re: Hmm...

[red_trillium]

Thank you! That is something I've never thought about and it's something I'll have to ponder and explore. I've got some images I done and want to play with, I like your ideas too.

I've also got a photo in mind but am still trying to figure out the details on execution.