‘The Candy Book’ and 5 other reads that defy ‘outdated rules of gender’


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Transgender, gender-nonconforming, nonbinary, crossdressing and androgynous individuals, and drag queens, impressed and contributed to the style business for years.

But they hadn’t been honored for his or her contributions, Candy magazine artistic director and writer Luis Venegas mentioned.

That’s why he launched Candy in 2009 — to deal with what he calls transversal individuals: those that are “defying the outdated rules of gender,” a bunch for whom clothes and make-up may be fairly significant.

“I wanted it to be glamorous and the same thing as Vogue magazine is, only focus on a group of people who, at the time, possibly weren’t going to make the cut to be in Vogue,” mentioned Venegas, who can also be the journal’s editor.

That identical 12 months, International Transgender Day of Visibility was created to not solely elevate consciousness of the discrimination confronted by transgender individuals, but in addition to have a good time them yearly on March 31.
Times are a little bit totally different now, for some: Caitlyn Jenner, an American tv persona and retired Olympian, made her public debut on Vanity Fair’s cover in 2015. RuPaul, an American drag queen and TV persona, starred on Vogue’s cover in 2019.
Candy journal had no precedent, based on Venegas, however had been efficiently surviving for a decade by then. Creating “The C☆ndy Book of Transversal Creativity,” revealed in 2020, is how he celebrated the anniversary.
Compiled from what Venegas thought-about the most effective content material from the journal’s first 12 points, “The C☆ndy Book of Transversal Creativity” showcases images and artwork by greater than 100 artists, together with David Armstrong, Naomi Harris, Bruce Weber and Cole Sprouse. Geena Rocero and Amos Mac are among the many culturally influential transgender individuals who contributed insightful essays to the guide.

Pictured is the quilt of “The C☆ndy Book of Transversal Creativity.” Credit: Candy Magazine/Rizzoli New York

Though deviating from gender binaries has been extra accepted lately, many individuals remain uninformed about what this implies — leading to societal division, on-line and in-person discrimination, facile media representation and policies that hurt reasonably than assist them. “The C☆ndy Book of Transversal Creativity” represents individuals of various physique sorts, races or ethnicities, ages, and gender performances.
Acknowledging the trendy facets of some transgender communities is “always fun,” however the pure expressions of “trans people run the gamut from boring to fabulous,” mentioned Linda Simpson, an entertainer and writer of the guide “The Drag Explosion,” whose images of and writing concerning the New York drag scene within the Nineteen Eighties and Nineteen Nineties is featured in Venegas’ guide.

One Candy Magazine subject included a 62-page profile on transgender stars reminiscent of actress Laverne Cox and Janet Mock. “The C☆ndy Book” contains a portion. Credit: Candy Magazine/Rizzoli New York

Dr. Rachel Levine, the brand new US assistant secretary of well being and the first out transgender federal official “doesn’t put incredible emphasis on fashion,” Simpson mentioned. Simultaneously, “you’ve got models walking on the runways of Paris and Milan that are transgender. So, like all communities, there’s a real wide range of expression and bodies.”

Trans individuals have typically been portrayed as unique, perverted and monstrous, Simpson mentioned. “To have a magazine or book showing trans people as glamorous and chic and sexy is really empowering in many ways, and certainly a wake-up call for some people.”

Model, artist and activist Richie Shazam poses on web page No. 113 of “The C☆ndy Book of Transversal Creativity.” Credit: Candy Magazine/Rizzoli New York

Celebrating these communities throughout this 12 months’s International Transgender Day of Visibility and year-round, in addition to highlighting their societal and political struggles, is vital, Venegas mentioned.

“There’s lots of lack of knowledge in general in all the rest of society,” he mentioned. “The more we know about all kinds of transversal manifestation and all kinds of transversal creativity, the more knowledge (the world will have).”

Add to queue: Understanding transgender individuals, points and cultures

Beyond the Gender Binary” | Alok Vaid-Menon | 2020

Pulling from their experiences as a gender-nonconforming artist, Vaid-Menon depicts gender as a fluid, changeable and artistic methodology of expression on this guide for younger adults.

A trans activist and formal naval aviator, Tannehill’s handbook is for each individuals who determine as transgender and these with little information of the neighborhood. After studying the that means of transgender, readers navigate via complicated matters reminiscent of rising up trans, relationship and intercourse, medical and psychological well being, and debates round gender and feminism.

Trans: A Memoir” | Juliet Jacques | 2016

Juliet Jacques revealingly recounts her story of rising up and defining herself in a quickly altering world of gender politics, from her intercourse reassignment surgical procedure in 2012 to her life as a author.

(*5*)” | Susan Stryker | 2008

“Transgender History” chronologically examines American transgender historical past via main actions, writings and occasions — such because the lives of transgender communities within the years following World War II, and the social adjustments over the following few many years.

In this assortment of interviews from King’s podcast “We Want the Airwaves,” the mixed-race queer artwork activist discusses queer style, the politics of Black drag and interning at Playboy with Janet Mock.





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