Loren Rex Cameron speaks of transbodies and human rights
The most incredible thing happened this past Thursday, April 17th. I got to meet the famous photographer, Loren Rex Cameron! He made out with my face (not really, but it's a funny story)! I happened to check my university email account and found a GLBT newsletter announcing upcoming events. When I saw that Loren Cameron was speaking on-campus and that I hadn't already missed the event, I knew I had to go! Since Cindy couldn't come with me (she was busy working on a paper), I dragged Rowan along. I think Rowan enjoyed it as much as I did.
For those of you who are unfamiliar, Loren Cameron is a transman who photographs other transpeople in the nude. His most famous compilation of work is called Body Alchemy, which was published in 1996 and has been reprinted a few times. Actually, one person from the audience was lucky enough to have one of the original versions of the book, which Rex (he prefers to go by his middle name) was more than happy to sign. He's such a warm, easy-going person. I was glad that I went, even though I had seen photos from his book before. His public presentation was worthwhile to me because he was able to tell little stories about each photo. He feels that it is his mission to educate society about transpeople and their lives--to show that we are not strange freaks, to de-mystify the process of SRS, and most importantly, to ease the way toward acceptance.
During the Q and A session, one audience member who appeared to be a gay male asked if Rex purposefully hyper-sexualized the people in his photographs. We got into a little discussion about the differences between gender representation and sexual orientation. I could tell that the question hit a nerve, as Rex calmly explained that he photographed people the way they wanted to be seen, and that he kept to "true" representations. He commented that his work had been harshly criticized before for displaying such strong gender-typical images. For example, one transman appeared in firefighter gear and some of the transwomen wore exquisite dresses. His work is not limited to those images, though. As Rex noted throughout the slideshow, he wanted to capture images of people throughout various stages of transition, representing various classes of people, ethnicities, ages, etc. Some men are more stereotypically "macho" while others are not. He explained how he, himself, as a bodybuilder has more in common with other bodybuilders, and that gender has nothing to do with that part of himself.
A woman from the audience asked whether or not Rex had to make peace with his religion before physically transitioning, to which he answered, "No." His bottom line has always been that his body is his own, and the same applies to every other individual. Another woman talked about the current shift towards gender-fucking/gender-blending, of people who didn't feel like they belonged to one gender, and how it disturbed her. She interpreted the phenomenon as a representation of class privilege, noting that mostly academic students partook in this new view of gender. Rex said that even though that is not the way he feels about himself, he thinks there should be room for everyone. He and other transsexuals should feel free to change their bodies to match their gender if they feel it is right for them, and those who are more gender-fluid should be allowed to express themselves, as well. He did not come across as a person who judges others, which was refreshing for me. I have seen much ugliness come out of the trans community, and from the way Rex spoke, it seemed like he had experienced that, as well. I felt a bond with him and wished I had been able to talk with him more.
After the Q&A session, I nervously waited to speak with Rex in person. I made Rowan come with me, so that I could get my picture taken with Rex. I ended up accidentally dropping my camera out of clumsiness and nerves. Rex made some funny remarks about being behind the times and not knowing how digital cameras work. My digi-cam, being a few years old, has a slow shutter speed, which is quite annoying. It took so long for the camera to flash the first time, that Rowan caught the side of Rex's face because he had turned his head to speak to me. He made a joke about how it's hard to tell who someone is from a side profile, and that it probably looked like he was kissing me. That's when he pretended to make out with the side of my face. We all laughed, Rowan took another picture, and then I got Rex to sign my composition book that I had brought along. I was totally star-struck by the end of the evening. Rowan said we should've invited Rex over for fish dinner. LoL I really would like to be friends with him, though. He was so genuine... I kept thinking that Alden should've been there, and that Rex would make a great mentor for Alden b/c Alden loves to take photos.
For those of you who are unfamiliar, Loren Cameron is a transman who photographs other transpeople in the nude. His most famous compilation of work is called Body Alchemy, which was published in 1996 and has been reprinted a few times. Actually, one person from the audience was lucky enough to have one of the original versions of the book, which Rex (he prefers to go by his middle name) was more than happy to sign. He's such a warm, easy-going person. I was glad that I went, even though I had seen photos from his book before. His public presentation was worthwhile to me because he was able to tell little stories about each photo. He feels that it is his mission to educate society about transpeople and their lives--to show that we are not strange freaks, to de-mystify the process of SRS, and most importantly, to ease the way toward acceptance.
During the Q and A session, one audience member who appeared to be a gay male asked if Rex purposefully hyper-sexualized the people in his photographs. We got into a little discussion about the differences between gender representation and sexual orientation. I could tell that the question hit a nerve, as Rex calmly explained that he photographed people the way they wanted to be seen, and that he kept to "true" representations. He commented that his work had been harshly criticized before for displaying such strong gender-typical images. For example, one transman appeared in firefighter gear and some of the transwomen wore exquisite dresses. His work is not limited to those images, though. As Rex noted throughout the slideshow, he wanted to capture images of people throughout various stages of transition, representing various classes of people, ethnicities, ages, etc. Some men are more stereotypically "macho" while others are not. He explained how he, himself, as a bodybuilder has more in common with other bodybuilders, and that gender has nothing to do with that part of himself.
A woman from the audience asked whether or not Rex had to make peace with his religion before physically transitioning, to which he answered, "No." His bottom line has always been that his body is his own, and the same applies to every other individual. Another woman talked about the current shift towards gender-fucking/gender-blending, of people who didn't feel like they belonged to one gender, and how it disturbed her. She interpreted the phenomenon as a representation of class privilege, noting that mostly academic students partook in this new view of gender. Rex said that even though that is not the way he feels about himself, he thinks there should be room for everyone. He and other transsexuals should feel free to change their bodies to match their gender if they feel it is right for them, and those who are more gender-fluid should be allowed to express themselves, as well. He did not come across as a person who judges others, which was refreshing for me. I have seen much ugliness come out of the trans community, and from the way Rex spoke, it seemed like he had experienced that, as well. I felt a bond with him and wished I had been able to talk with him more.
After the Q&A session, I nervously waited to speak with Rex in person. I made Rowan come with me, so that I could get my picture taken with Rex. I ended up accidentally dropping my camera out of clumsiness and nerves. Rex made some funny remarks about being behind the times and not knowing how digital cameras work. My digi-cam, being a few years old, has a slow shutter speed, which is quite annoying. It took so long for the camera to flash the first time, that Rowan caught the side of Rex's face because he had turned his head to speak to me. He made a joke about how it's hard to tell who someone is from a side profile, and that it probably looked like he was kissing me. That's when he pretended to make out with the side of my face. We all laughed, Rowan took another picture, and then I got Rex to sign my composition book that I had brought along. I was totally star-struck by the end of the evening. Rowan said we should've invited Rex over for fish dinner. LoL I really would like to be friends with him, though. He was so genuine... I kept thinking that Alden should've been there, and that Rex would make a great mentor for Alden b/c Alden loves to take photos.