I want the pictures to be organic, so we will brainstorm about how best to present you in your portrait. In his book Never Enough (2007), Joe McGinniss describes a court case in. Twinks are typically associated with a few key tropes: general physical attractiveness, a slim build, and a youthful appearance that lacks facial hair and often body hair as well. I am looking for men who could be classified in the gay animal kingdom as a Bear, an Otter, Gym Bunny, Wolf, Chicken Hawk, or whatever. Twink is a subcultural term referring to gay men who defy traditional masculine roles, embracing traits that are generally seen as feminine. I’M HOPING YOU WOULD BE WILLING TO HELP ME BY POSING FOR MY PROJECT! I am grateful for all the help from my participants. I’ve loved bears forever, and the love has only grown since I dove into exploration of these categories, definitions and ideas- the creativity and cleverness behind them. That being said, the photographs I plan to take could be funny, cute, plain, strictly documentation, quirky, sexy, fully clothed, nude, or whatever else floats boats, you know? This project is intended to be an educational piece- by no means should this project demoralize, embarrass, make fun of, or anything such thing to be hurtful- it’s a celebration of a “type” that most people outside our culture don’t know about! There has been some misconceptions sometimes about why I’m doing this, but I assure you, it’s all about capturing these “creatures” completely comfortably in their environment and role as a member of the gay animal kingdom. From within the gay community, we don’t realize how unusual it is because we are so used to it, but to those I’ve encountered with limited gay culture exposure are always so amused and so eager to learn about otters and cubs and wolves! This project is kind of a way of presenting something that’s usually ‘underground’ to larger amounts of people. The bear community is so amazing, and the idea that some gay people relate themselves to similar animals is fascinating. The thesis is to point out and discuss through pictures the phenomenon of the gay community self-categorizing and identifying with wild animals, most visibly bears.
This is a project for a photo-documentary class with the ultimate goal of making a book with the images I’m currently trying to collect.