· Gender-non-conforming people of Mexico
This portrait series was inspired and initiated by my first trip to Mexico in May 2024. I wanted to photograph non-binary people, focusing on brown Latin American beauty.
My intention was to approach realities of queer and gender-non-conforming identities to contribute to a wider representation, expanding perceptions perceptions of feminine and masculine expression.
The series is finalist at the 40𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘈𝘖𝘗 𝘗𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘩𝘺 𝘈𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴, 𝘤𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘱𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘩𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘦-𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘺.
𝘚𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 @mpbcom , 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳’𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘰𝘳, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘈𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘤𝘶𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯 𝘶𝘯𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘺 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘱𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘩𝘺.
𝗣𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝘁 𝗖𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗼𝗿𝘆
Judged by Pål Hansen @pal_hansen (Photographer), Joanna Moran @joannamoran (Photography Director, Empire), and Joe De Souza (Creative Director, Wieden + Kennedy).
Sponsored by Capture One @captureone
In the images:
@itsbalanca
@axayacatlcruz
@fernand0monter0
Models: Fernando Montero/ Balanca / Axayacatl Cruz /
About the project
Queer & Mex is an ongoing portrait series that I started in Ciudad de Mexico in May 2024.
In this series I photograph gender-non-conforming people, focusing on brown and black beauty - which has been historically overlooked in South America, where Caucasian traits have been praised as beautiful over indigenous features-.
I wanted to approach femininity and masculinity from different perspectives and challenge stereotypical views rooted in religious traditions, patriarchy, and mainstream culture; while also expanding a view on queerness from a non-European perspective.
I choose Mexico as a country where gender-based violence is a serious issue that translates in a high number of feminicides, gender segregated public transport, among other difficult realities. Through this project, I aim to explore gender from an intimate perspective, while also reflecting on it as a broader social phenomenon tied to freedom, authenticity, and societal change. Ultimately, the project seeks to capture the beauty of diversity and reflect the peace and empowerment that come from the true freedom of being oneself.
Shot in Mexico City, 2024