5 Photographers Who Make Trans and Non-Binary Visible

‘I am in training don’t kiss me’, 1927 © Claude Cahun. Courtesy of the Jersey Heritage Collections

Claude Cahun

Claude Cahun was a queer photographer, writer and sculptor whose work was political but also incredibly personal, challenging the gender binary and the fixed stereotypes associated with gender.

Claude’s work featured writing, photography, and theatre but they are most well known for their self-portraits. Claude created these works with their life-long partner, Marcel Moore; as Claude took on multiple personas, it is believed to have been Marcel who took the photographs. Although their work is now interpreted as a statement on gender and sexuality, Claude created it for themselves and had no desire to be famous. No matter the reason behind the works, Claude’s images were groundbreaking in their defiance of gender norms and their impact cannot be denied.

Del LaGrace Volcano

Heroine Del LaGrace Volcano is a genderqueer artist and activist who challenges gender within their work, particularly the performance of masculinity and femininity. Born intersex and living as female for the first 37 years of their life, Del LaGrace now lives as male and female. Through changing their name and gender identity they have found their true self. Within their work, they explore gender fluidity and depict the instability of gender identity, creating works which defy gender norms.

© Del LaGrace Volcano (+ Gerard Rancinan), Paris 2004

Miss Kimberley from the series Surmise © Lola Flash

Lola Flash

Lola Flash has been at the forefront of LGBTQIA+ activism since the 1980s and has continued to challenge gender, sexual, and racial misconceptions ever since. Beginning as an active member of the ACT UP political group and creating art which reflected the AIDS crisis of the late 80s/early 90s in New York, Lola continues to use her work to advocate for social justice. Within her series Surmise, she shines a light on misunderstandings and misrepresentation of perceived gender and sexuality and the pain this can cause.

Lia Clay Miller

Lia Clay Miller is a fashion and portrait photographer whose work often tells the stories of the trans community. As a trans woman herself, Lia’s subject focus is a partial expression of her own reality; however, she seeks balance in telling these stories, wanting the images to be about the person within them rather than herself. Along with telling the stories of the trans community via taking photographs, Lia wants to create more representation behind the lens.

“I think people underestimate the power of who is behind the lens,” she says. “There needs to be just as much representation there as in front of the camera.” – Lia Clay Miller, Elephant

Bodies Like Oceans Short Film Teaser featuring Shoog McDaniels by KC Cory Touschner

Shoog McDaniel 

Shoog McDaniel is a fat, queer, and self-proclaimed ‘Floridian freak’ who has been creating art from an early age. Within their work, Shoog captures queer, trans, and fat bodies, usually within nature, creating beautiful pieces of art which have a calm serenity coupled with immense strength and ferocity. Within their work ‘Queers and Nature’, Shoog examines the liberating potential of both nature and self-acceptance. Shoog wants to create more representation for fat, queer, and trans people, with the hope that it will change what society deems to be beautiful.