Jaelyn McFadden
Close your legs… Smile!
This work is to show the underbelly of what growing up in a small town trying to understand what feminism was. Cross your legs, send the nude, just hook up with him, waving at 50 year old truck drivers while wearing short shorts, kissing girls for male gaze, are you trying to be a boy, fucking dyke, I wish I was as skinny as you, how did you get that ass, mascara and stuffed bras at 11, you need to pop your cherry, practice sucking this to control your gag reflex. Don’t be a freak. “I wish you would wear more makeup”
Im ashamed to say I thought womanhood was about having a sex appeal. I learned that I had to be agreeable and un-opinionated. Smart but know your place. Supportive but fuck that bitch… have a great body but not share the horrors of how I was getting it. This was my feminism.
-jealyn (they/he/it)
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About Jaelyn
Jealyn is a portrait photographer with a passion for community care and activism. Influenced by his community of drag, neurodivergent, disabled, kink, and trans community in Brooklyn, Jealyn aims to create work of resilience and liberation through therapeutic art practices. With years of photographing, Jealyn has developed a ‘trans gaze’ that has inspired many trans people to explore a loving relationship with their appearance. In recent work, Jealyn is focusing on self portraiture and what telling their story might look like. Beyond being a photographer, Jealyn is working on producing drag show for trans youth called Lil Park Drag Show which inspired them to create for the next generation.
Presented by BKC & ASMP NY, The Bridge is a groundbreaking 16-week mentorship program for 18-26 year old emerging photographers and creative artists. To learn more about The Bridge, CLICK HERE.