Rites of Passage: A history of variance from the perspective of an artist and activist
Presented by Mariette Pathy Allen, MFA
Starting in 1978, I have been involved with presenting the diverse and creative people who fit somewhere under the gender spectrum umbrella. I have participated in the evolution of political awareness and movements, observed changes in transgender conferences, and been involved with individuals, and their families, as a photographer, biographer, and ally. My goal has always been to show the people I photograph in the daylight of everyday life, to offer a reflection of the person who belongs in that mirror, as well as to the outside world., My books, “Transformations: Crossdressers and Those Who Love Them”, 1989, and “The Gender Frontier”, 2004, were published. In 2012, I started working with transgender women in Cuba. “TransCuba” was published in 2014. Then, in collaboration with Professor Eli Coleman, I traveled to Burma and Thailand, producing “TransCendents: Spirit Mediums in Burma and Thailand” in 2017. I believe the work done in the USA should be a separate workshop from the one focusing in the other countries. The work made outside of the US gives perspective to what happens here.
www.mariettepathyallen.com