Mel and Andrea, together since the seventies

I have been learning a lot lately. It's true that I grew up in a small Mexican village accessible to the rest of the world only by boat for much of my childhood and although I have been living in the big city of Tucson Arizona for the last 8 years, it appears that I still on occasion have an an isolated village-child view of the world. For example, I made a call out to my community recently wanting to photograph 'power couples' which in my mind was really exciting and, well, powerful. I did not, however, know what most people think of when they think of the term 'power couple' but I soon found out. I received several emails from concerned friends and strangers alike claiming they were saddened with me that I would aspire to want to photograph such a community. What these people didn't understand was that when I was saying power couple what I was really saying with my innocence or perhaps it could be called ignorance was that I simply wanted to photograph powerful couples, couples unafraid to share themselves in a vulnerable and beautiful way regardless of color of one's skin, gender orientation, politics, wealth or age.

I really wanted to reach all types of couples and photograph them in a (power-full) famous pose while simultaneously celebrating gender diversity within partnership and love! I have a lot of lesbian friends in powerful couple-ships but know few transgender couples or gay or any other divine and authentic orientation of coupling. Someone wrote me sharing that they might be willing to pose for me and that they identified as both trans and cisgender. I became entirely excited but then scared away the potential participants because I confessed that I had no idea what the term cisgender meant and that was disappointing to them and I lost their trust. I really should have googled the term before I wrote them back, but I was giddy with possibility and acted the way I often do: too fast and with lots of exclamation points, one too many misspellings and with words like 'hugs' and 'blessings.'

Mel, in his early 70ies

I don't know much, but I do know that not many men are willing to get nude with their partner for me. The women, on the other hand, are like, "let's do this Jade!" The women in my community and from my following are ready to strip in the name of inspiration! The men not so much, for many reasons, some because of work and many because of social pressure I am going to assume. It was the reluctance of men that made me recently realize I had zero desire in photographing nude women with a clothed or even semi clothed man and so now I am seeking specifically men who are willing to be nude while the female is, so contrary to how we normally see women in a sensuous pose with a man, clothed.

I offer these image for no other reason than for all of us to ponder how we see each other, the labels and roles we 'learn' and pose upon one another. I am not even all that sure what I am trying to say with these images other to make something beautiful out of love in a way we don't normally see it.

So far I haven't had any gay couples or transgender or any other gender-diverse couples in-trust me with their preciousness, but I hope some gorgeous gender diverse couples will walk my way and give this village girl a chance while standing or laying vulnerable in front of a love-filled lens and to help the rest of the world see just how beautiful we are, all of us, without any label at all and how we all deserve to give love, to receive love and to be seen as powerful and beautiful, just the way we chose to be.

Lia and Gino

Gino

Casey and Erin

Lia and Gino

Daniel Wilson says: Boys are no longer initiated into manhood by a gathering of the village elders, so we each guess at how to make that transition. We are uninformed, or misinformed, and alone. This method leaves a large number of gaps in our understanding and our confidence. The role of village elder has been considered obsolete for a long time now. It is a great loss to us individually and collectively. You are encountering one of its effects.

What do YOU think?