What makes a human: Body Politics

As people, we all have a specific view on what we think humans should act like, be this our own personal opinion or that of the culture that we are part of. What happens when this idea is challeged and we are faced with something that we percieve as being wrong?

The idea of being human can vary throughout different cultures and classes. What would be acceptable and normal in some cultures would not be in others. This is discrimination.

This can take the form of racial discrimination and gender based discrimination, amongst others. Stereotypes often contribute to these views. The way we expect a person to behave, based on their looks, often influences what we think of them as a person or as a culture. This is often seen as a bad thing, however, some people use it to their advantage. Topics that would usually be dangerous territory can be turned into things that can be discussed freely.

A quick search of the internet showed nothing much of use, but after narrowing down my search keywords I found a book called 'Body Alchemy: Transsexual Portraits' by photographer Loren Cameron. Gender identification is always a big point of discussion because there is a grey area surrounding it. This book shows the journey that make transgender's take, from being male to being female, including a large section documenting his own journey.

I found a blog that explains an individual's experience at buying this book, being a trasgender himself. I found this quite useful in the way that it shows how even people who accept that they are transgender have issues with it themselves,

http://tranifesto.com/2009/05/04/body-alchemy-transexual-portraits-by-loren-cameron/

Some people might think that transgender imagery links to the post modernism movement. People who are transgender, whether male or female, could be interpreted as broken people. They are neither male or female, they are somewhere in between. Post modernism is the idea that our own experiences influence our relality. It denies the application of principles to groups of people, and supports the isea of individuals. Essentially the fragmented group of people.

Topics ranging from transgender, to eroticism to racism, all provoke reactions in people, depending on their own personal beliefs. If you dont agree or believe in something does that make you right and them wrong? Are the issues that people face with things like transgender today similar to the issues that gay couples and the balck civil rights movement faced years ago. Is it just waiting for people to expand their minds and accept things as normal?