In the wake of President Trump's apparent ban on transgender individuals serving in the U.S. military, visibility of and support for trans people are more important than ever. Award-winning photographer Demetrius Fordham aims to accomplish both with this portrait series.

Titled Transparent, the collection features 20 diverse trans people who share their personal experiences about embracing their identity. The subjects vary in race, body type, and age—from a 16-year-old student to a 37-year-old mother—but together, they "highlight and celebrate the diversity within this community" and help bring "more trans voices and stories out into the world," Fordham says.

"As a cisgender male, I was nervous about shooting this series, aware of the way trans individuals have been (and continue to be) fetishized and misrepresented in the media," the photographer told HuffPost. To his delight, his subjects welcomed his project, and he was "humbled" to listen to their stories.

Transparent was featured by Kenneth Cole for Pride Month in June, but it's even more relevant now, at a time when the president's repeated dismissal of trans issues leaves the community even more vulnerable than before.



Below is a preview of Fordham's work. See the full portrait series here.

Rachel, 37, Former pro dart champion and mom

Demetrius Fordham

"Even when I was extremely young, I knew. I remember wishing there was a magic machine that would just turn me from a boy into a girl.

Due to lack of information and education, I had mislabeled myself. I’d masked the gravity of my gender dysphoria as a fetish or a kink. I’d built a great life as a man: I had the job, the relationships, the family. Everything you would want to be happy, but I wasn’t. I was pretending to be someone else.

Then, three and a half years ago, I went to a trans night. I’d been to others before, frequented mainly by older men in drag; it was something they did for fun. But this was different. The women here were women 24/7, they didn’t go back home and change afterwards. And then it hit me: this was so much more than just about dressing in women’s clothing. It was something I always knew but had suppressed. Soon afterwards, I sought out therapy and support groups.

The first month after that was depressing. I was married, already had one kid, and another on the way. I felt massive amounts of guilt—I was supposed to be their father.

And I am. But I am also a woman. I am a woman, I am a trans woman, I am their biological father. I am who I am.

If there’s one thing I want people to know about me, it’s that I’m just a normal girl. I like movies, I like shoes. My kids are the most important thing in my life. I have the same needs, the same fears and insecurities as you do.

While being trans can escalate those fears, at the end of the day, we all want the same thing. We all want happiness, we all want love."

Jes, Comedian

Demetrius Fordham

Brit, 24, Writer and director

Demetrius Fordham

"I grew up on the Southside of Chicago in a neighborhood called Roseland. I currently work in the production department at an advertising agency, but I'm also a writer and director.

I want people know that my story is my own and doesn't equate to an entire community's. We're an incredibly diverse community. There's no one "type" of trans person. Like everything else in this world, we exist on a spectrum. Being trans is not all of who I am—it's just a small, awesome part about me.

Sadly, being trans still carries a stigma. As long as trans folks don't have equal access in this world, then being trans still carries a stigma. As long as we have trans women and femmes of color murdered every other week, as long as trans people can't find work, as long as trans people don't have access to affordable health care or even bathrooms, then being trans still carries a stigma. It's getting better, but we've been saying that for a while.

I’m excited to get to a place where being trans is just as normal as having dark hair."

Dominique, 34, Model

Demetrius Fordham

Garnet, 21, Sales manager

Demetrius Fordham

"I'm from San Antonio, Texas, and I moved to Manhattan when I was 19 to chase my dreams. I struggled for a while, but now I’m doing quite well for myself—I’m an area sales manager for a salon brand.



Unfortunately, being a transgender individual still carries a stigma in society. I've encountered so many situations where people will not even associate with me, simply because I am transgender. I’ve been insulted on the street, almost escorted out of a nightclub by security and given more dirty looks than I can count—all for being who I am.

I need people to know that the transgender community is not what you see in the media.

We are not prostitutes or drug addicts or punchlines. We're not fetishized jokes. We’re human beings, struggling to be recognized, to find happiness.

Like you, I'm a human being. I suffer from social anxiety, depression, loneliness and fear. But I strive to be the best person I can possibly be. And I treat everyone exactly as I wish they would treat me."

Quintessa, 20, Human Rights Student

Demetrius Fordham

Erica Gonzales Erica Gonzales is the Culture and Content Strategy Editor for BAZAAR.com, where she oversees news and culture coverage, including celebrity, music, TV, movies, and more.

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