Anima Animus - Frankie

Anima Animus is a long term project exploring the borderline of gender.
The first part of this project was commissioned by Vol de Nuits gallery and it consists of a series of black and white portraits of trans* and genderqueer people living in the UK.
Each model has undertaken a journey, transitioning from the sex they were assigned at birth to the gender they identify with.
All portraits have been shot on film with a large format camera, taking advantage of the Scheimpflug principle to narrowly focus on the models' eyes.
This stylistic choice is a visual response to the media's tendencies to only focus on trans* people's bodies, virtually erasing their identities.
The media tend to sensationalize trans people’s stories, mostly focusing on the medical aspects of transitioning (surgeries, hormone therapy etc) and objectifying the individual.
To avoid the risk of sensationalism, I decided to collaborate with the models to create a series of respectful statements to accompany the portraits. In the statements, they talk about their life story, their passions and their transition with a particular emphasis on how it is to be gender non conforming in the UK and what changes they would like to see in the future.

Statement


My name is Frankie, I’m 24 and I live in North London. My preferred pronouns are ‘she/her’ or ‘they’ spoken, and ‘s/he/her’ written. I’d describe my gender identity as non-binary transfeminine and/or androgyne. I studied contemporary music and performance; I write songs and sing, and I’m trying to put a synthpunk band together at the moment.
I grew up as an only child with a tough, independent mum and a quiet, gentle dad in and around Swindon, UK. My parents separated when I was seven, and I lived primarily with my mum until I was 18, but saw my dad regularly. I didn’t feel like I was gender variant when I was young, but I don’t believe that I could have because I wasn’t aware that gender could be non-binary until I was an adult; this said, I don’t remember ever really behaving in ways considered strongly male or female. Although my parents were working-class, they were adamant that I received a private education, so I attended private school until the age of 16. Looking back I’m very thankful for this in a number of ways; it was a difficult environment to cultivate a gender identity, but probably no less difficult than anywhere else. I think there’s a different trans* identity for every trans* person, it’s very difficult to pin it down. I became aware of my own gender variance when I was about 15 years old; my partner at the time put some eyeliner on me and I felt very emotional seeing myself in the mirror, thinking for the first time that I looked nice. When I came out as trans* and planning to undergo hormone replacement therapy, my parents initially responded with a lot of questions (some respectful, some less so, most of which I couldn’t properly answer) and a touch of denial, but generally speaking they were supportive and loving.
I have a partner, Steph, and we’ve been together for nearly three years. Steph is a cisgender bisexual woman and is forging a career as a journalist, blogger and fiction writer. She’s been completely supportive of my gender identity and decisions, which I decided upon not long after our relationship began. Steph is a good, open-minded person, and I have never been concerned about her feelings towards my trans* identity. We’ve just moved to London, and are looking forward to making a new life here together.
Although I don’t want any gender-related surgeries at this stage in my life, I am interested in hormones for many reasons, most notably because I want my physical appearance to become more feminine, and I want to experience sexuality in different ways Testosterone can be a powerful poison for women and people who identify on a feminine spectrum, and really seems to affect the way people’s sexualities present themselves. I feel that testosterone is making me miss some of the emotional side of sex. It’s taken about two and a half years to gain access to hormones because I went through the UK public healthcare system and was very honest about my non-binary identity throughout the process. I have finally received my prescription for low-dosage oestrogen, and am both very excited and very nervous to begin my physical transition. Before I begin, I am looking into sperm storage because hormone replacement therapy usually results in infertility. Although I have no plans to have children now, I know I’d regret it later on in life if I don’t keep that option open.