The Genderbent Project is Jacob Rostovsky and Dusti Cunningham’s photographic series documenting gender non-conforming individuals, with an indiegogo campaign seeking $11,000 to become fully funded. So far they’ve photographed fabulous trans and genderqueer legends Mathu Andersen, Buck Angel, Alaska, Sonique, Glamerous Monique and Ian Harvie (among others; see below). Genderbent will also interview the participants to get a better understanding of their journeys. Check out Mathu discussing his perception of gender roles in the video below.
HuffPo recently sat down with Jacob and Dusti to talk about their project, here’s a quick snippet:
Why did you decide to embark on this project?
Jacob Rostovsky: Right now there is so much tension between the transgender community and gender nonconforming communities, as well as members of the LGB ones. We (Dusti Cunningham and Jacob Rostovsky) wanted to embark on this project to show that while our experiences may differ, we all share commonalities and should support one another regardless of the terms we use. We also noticed how much freedom there is when one is allowed to express themselves to the fullest, and how much joy comes with living true to your authentic self. We felt it was important to share this with the mainstream heteronormative societies, instead of only leaving them with images of our despair.
What are your goals with this?
As Mathu Anderson said in our Indiegogo video, we want to be able to show what is right with the gender nonconforming community, not what is wrong. Another one of our goals with this project is to showcase the beauty of those who have custom made and bent gender to make it their own. All of the proceeds that exceed the indiegogo goal from this project will go to supporting a transgender non-profit, Trans United with Family and Friends (TUFF), which gives financial assistance towards transition costs for transgender individuals. It is important that we bring awareness of the community through “Genderbent” and help make a difference as well as creating art.
What do you hope this project will help people understand about transgender and gender nonconforming people?
We want people to understand how beautiful the community is. We also want individuals to understand how connected everyone in the world is to one another through shared experiences of gender identity. This project does not solely focus on the transgender community. We include everyone from transgender individuals, to drag queens, to straight male crossdressers. The importance of genderbent is to show that there is no one way to define gender. It is not black and white. “Genderbent” is hoping to bring awareness about the issues that plague the gender nonconforming communities that are not so focused on in the media right now, such as homelessness, bashings and joblessness. However, we also want to show the triumphs and success many of us have seen through our experiences as well. It’s important to show everyone who is not familiar with the community how strong we are, and “Genderbent” will do just that.
And check out the nutty clown porn transformation I did with Dusti last year
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