#beyondbinaries #1 Beth/Eli. Genderfluid/Non-Binary. Pronouns: They/Them/Their. Graffiti: @fiyaone.
Who are the people behind the hundreds of gender descriptor options on Facebook? What is the difference between trans and trans*?
“I identify as gender fluid, non binary trans*. For as long as I can remember I had an uneasy and somewhat awkward relationship with my gender. In retrospect I wish I had access to the language of gender variance when I was younger, it would have saved me decades of gender related trauma. It was a revelation learning that I wasn’t alone in identifying as neither male nor female, but rather as a dynamic mix of either/both/neither. Prior to two years ago, I didn’t even know that other non binary and gender fluid people existed. I have described my gender as being about 50% androgyne with swings towards masculine and feminine. While my gender identity is pretty neutral my gender expression tends to vary quite dramatically. I treat gender expression as a playful, performative act of rebellion.” – Beth/Eli
#beyondbinaries is a photodocumentary project focusing on the people behind these identities – gender non-conforming (GNC) peeps in South Africa. GNC people are a growing community in South Africa’s trans* population. Their gender is very different to transgender as they are neither of the binary genders, or a combination of both, or a highly personalised hybrid of genders on the gender spectrum (or even better, the gender constellation), emphasising the fact that there are more than two genders and that gender is less of a stable fact and more of a very personalised, fluid and performative journey.
There are as many different queer identities and terms as there are people in this community, with genderqueer (GQ), non-binary (NB) and GNC being just a few. As the identity is constantly transformative and without a destination, the language used to describe these people is constantly in flux and metamorphosing.
I’ll be collaboratively documenting this community in celebration of the art that is self-identification, the creativity that is diversity, a literal graffiti-ing over the walls of the conventional, in a country ravaged by gender violence based on difference.
Follow the #beyondbinaries project here and at germainedelarch.co.za
#GNC #NB #GQ #gendernonconforming #nonbinary #genderqueer #queer #trans #trans* #genderfluid #genderfuck #androgyne #androgyny #genderbender #transgender #graffiti
life writ large 