Through Transplanting Masculinity, I confront the complexities of gender dysphoria and societal constructs of masculinity. This series of self-portraits uses fruits and vegetables as symbols, exploring my hesitation around taking testosterone and the changes it would bring, particularly the fear of bottom growth and the longing for a desired masculine presentation.
Drawing on John Berger’s concept of the gaze as inherently masculine, I reflect on how gender ideologies position men as active doers and women as passive observers of themselves. By performatively cutting, shaping, and placing the fruits on my body, I disrupt the controlling male gaze, reclaiming agency over my image and redefining the narrative around transmasculinity.
This work invites viewers into an intimate exploration of transformation, vulnerability, and the tension between societal expectations and personal identity, challenging traditional ideas of how bodies are meant to act and appear.
Transplanting Masculinity, 2025. Digital photography collage.
A fragmented composition of hands cutting, peeling, and holding vegetables—organic forms echoing the body. The textures and shapes evoke tension between transformation and preservation, mirroring the complexities of change
