Recently, I had the wonderful opportunity to hang out with a talented photographer; she wanted to take some pictures and hear my story.
The result was more than I could have expected.
Filtered through her keen eye, artistic sensibility and focused curiosity, she managed to coax out of me a collection of evocative pictures and words, and assembled them into a Photo Project she calls “A Day with Claire Black (Janie).”
To be honest, I was quite surprised when I first saw the photos – I had no idea of what she was seeing during our time together until that moment. I think the whole collection is wonderful.
Here’s a taste… (all photos are © 2011 Connie Tsang; model: Janie Black) As always, click on a photo to enlarge it.
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“I hope that people find me attractive. To me, it’s more important that someone finds me attractive than someone finds me a woman. You know, there’s this so-called ‘passing’, where you want to pass as a woman so people don’t recognize that you’re not a woman. I think there’s a trade-off sometimes. You can pass as a woman but maybe an unattractive woman. I personally would rather someone say, ‘Hmm, I’m not sure if that’s a guy or a girl, but damn, that person’s attractive…. Why am I attracted to that person?’
But walking down the street…. if I notice people looking, that’s when you really have your self-confidence meter on. You have to decide now are they looking at you because you’re really attractive, or are they looking at you because you’re a freak, right? And that’s a hard call sometimes.” – Claire Black (Janie)
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Shirley Corning
Well Janie,
I looked at every picture and read all the captions. It’s an absolutely super summary of the absolutely unique you. You are that girl Janie but so is the guy. Like a coin you have two genuine sides. It is not an act but things you do that fit the facets of your personality. Ilove it. I can truly relate to that.
Do carry on,
Shirley
gswi
I like your thoughts below that photo. I also prefer being an attractive freak over being an unattractive woman.
The only downside, as you already mentioned, is that you’re never sure WHY exactly the people are looking at you.
Gabriela
shantown
To be fair to you, and everybody else in the world, we NEVER know why someone may be looking at us, trans or not. They may like or dislike what they see for a wide variety of reasons, but our “self confidence meter” (love that) always assumes it’s the trans thing. I think getting past that is a crucial step for any girl.
BTW, there is no ‘hard call” here. People are looking at a very attractive person go by. This guy is probably wishing his wife looked half as good…..lol
Linda Marie Daniels
Amazing photo shoot. Connie Tsang is an artist. Really enjoyed seeing this.
Petra Bellejambes
Beautiful photo essay Claire. The snaps work as really beautiful frames for your thoughts. And how nice to employ a day with a skilled photographer as a platform for reflection? Big win for you and for us, your friends and admirers out here.
Put me on the wait list for the book, would you m’dear?
xo – P
cdjanie
Thanks for all the love, ladies. It really means a lot. xo Janie
Alexis Alexandra
Great series of photos and comments. It was a fun read.