Feminine boys (coming soon)

Feminine boys

My work mostly deals with what it means to be female. Exploring the feminine aspect of our psyche in particular. With the series “Feminine boys” I became curious about how the feminine manifests in boys and men. How much of a feminine expression in boys/men is acceptable in society, and how does this reflect on the feminine as an archetype. I started the series Feminine boys wanting to explore this in men regardless of their sexuality but the further I explored the series the more I was finding it was resonating with men and people who clearly identify as out of the normal binary, and who are most often gay or bisexual. My younger brother recently came out as bisexual. He confided in me that his whole life he struggled with this feminine side of him and that at some stage he tried to deny that part of himself completely. I have grown up with my brother and I have witnessed his struggle and his shutdown and I feel that on some level I started this series because of him.

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  Daimon
   
  This is the third shoot I have done with Daimon. They/he has grown so much into them/himself since our last shoot. Daimon grew up knowing he was gay since he could remember. When I met Daimon I immediately felt he would be perfect for my feminine boys series. He/they told me that being part of this series really gave them the confidence to completely embrace and express their feminine self without feeling the need to hide that part of themselves any more. The red of the rose over his face here represents his courage to be authentic to himself which really moved me. The more masculine pose shows that by embracing their feminine, they have also started to heal their masculine self, and that they feel proud of who they are. The symbolism of the rose is also significant in another way, roses are typically associated with love and romance, but with this series it more so symbolises the love or unification between the masculine and feminine energies within. By making the series the people who I photograph and collaborated with taught me how important it is to find balance and unity between these parts of ourselves, by giving a voice to those parts unashamedly and in ways that best suits who they feel they are.