For my first project, I had the Singer reading, “From the Medical Gaze to Sublime Mutations” in mind.  This reading was about the different ways in which trans, intersex and other variant bodies are photographed and what effect those methods of of portraying variant bodies have.  The author mainly focused on comparing impersonal medical photos of trans and intersex people to intimate self portraits.  The biggest difference between these two was how medical photographs dehumanized their subjects by blacking out their faces.

I also wanted to reflect my own experiences with the medical aspects of transition and portray conflict with ones own body by dividing up my body into segments.  There are a lot of needles in series as I always seem to be getting jabbed with various needles.  I have to give myself injections every ten days and get blood drawn at least twice a year.  I also included a photograph of me getting ready to take a box cutter to myself to illustrate the enormous pressure placed on trans women to go under the knife.