A visually stunning, landmark photography book of transgender New Yorkers, complete with thought-provoking and revealing interviews that honor the transgender community and the courage it takes to find oneself and defy societal norms.
A growing portion of the LGBTQ+ community identifies as transgender; they are fathers and mothers, sons and daughters; actors, writers, singers, and politicians; young, old, black, white, Latinx, and Asian; farmers, suburbanites, and New Yorkers. But trans people today face the same challenges that gay people faced in the 1980s, often forced to the periphery of society by prejudice and fear and subject to a lack of legal representation, workplace harassment, and insufficient healthcare. And while an increasing amount of people report that they personally know a transgender person, trans people still contend with the stigma, violence, and discrimination that accompanies a lack of representation and a lack of visibility.
After traveling the world as a documentary photographer, Peter Bussian returned home to New York City and decided to focus his lens on his transgender neighbors. He met with people who identify as trans, genderqueer, or gender nonbinary, and often their significant others, friends, or family members. His photos capture them on the streets of New York and at their favorite haunts. The result is intimate access to a population all-too-often underrepresented or misrepresented in popular media. In his stunning, expertly shot photos and accompanying interviews of fifty New Yorkers, we see the power of individuality, the raw and complex expressions of identity that New York City welcomes, and joyful, poignant journeys toward self-acceptance.
One of the first books of its kind and a visual tour de force, Trans New York gives rare and remarkable insights into the journey of transition, combats misconceptions and stereotypes, and celebrates the autonomous articulation of sexuality, gender, and self that New York, in all of its beauty, honesty, and compassion, welcomes.
