The photo essay published last week in CNN.com has caused me a great deal of anxiety. I've debated whether to acknowledge it, or hope it just blows over, unnoticed.
I've finally arrived at the conclusion that, while I cannot endorse this article, its out there all the same. And I need to set the record straight on what I strongly feel are misrepresentations, in the images and especially the text, likely to confuse and misinform the viewer. After all, this is my story, and I need to have some say in how its presented to the world.
Tuesday, September 22, 2015
Saturday, April 25, 2015
Before Delia, Part I. No Pictures, Please.
Its hard to imagine some people not happily smiling before a camera.
By my own admission, I'm one of them now. Ah, Delia and her photographs. Portraits are the peanut butter to my jelly, Sonny to my Cher. Chicago to my winter.
I've 100 Facebook albums and nearly all of them were posted after transition. Since June 21, 2011 when first coming out to The World my friends and family have been subjected to a LOT of me. Each photograph is a confirmation of who I've become and, even more so, who I'm becoming as I riff along on seemingly endless permutations of my female-ness. Even now, 10 years later, still I play with variations of clothing, hairstyles, makeup, and more subtle characteristics ... as I observe other women doing throughout their lives.
I get that, and I appreciate that you also get that and don't seem to mind too much. Photos are my bread crumbs, marking not only where I stand ... but the long, winding and incredible path where I've trod.
But it was not always so. And thereby hangs a tale.
By my own admission, I'm one of them now. Ah, Delia and her photographs. Portraits are the peanut butter to my jelly, Sonny to my Cher. Chicago to my winter.
I've 100 Facebook albums and nearly all of them were posted after transition. Since June 21, 2011 when first coming out to The World my friends and family have been subjected to a LOT of me. Each photograph is a confirmation of who I've become and, even more so, who I'm becoming as I riff along on seemingly endless permutations of my female-ness. Even now, 10 years later, still I play with variations of clothing, hairstyles, makeup, and more subtle characteristics ... as I observe other women doing throughout their lives.
I get that, and I appreciate that you also get that and don't seem to mind too much. Photos are my bread crumbs, marking not only where I stand ... but the long, winding and incredible path where I've trod.
But it was not always so. And thereby hangs a tale.