Baby Mobile

I myself am very interested in gender roles. According to the conservative view, girls should wear dresses and boys should wear trousers. Girls should like pink and boys should like blue. This difference arises, among other things, through gender-specific socialization. Gender-specific socialization is the process of upbringing, training and other forms of interaction with others regarding gender and its expression. There is no escaping it from birth: you are consciously or unconsciously placed in gender-specific boxes.

I wanted to make something based on the 'being' of a certain gender and the certain image that should be propagated with it.

Inspiration and concept

On September 13, 2019, Sam posted to Instagram that read, “Today is a good day, so here it goes. I have decided to change my pronouns to them/their. After a lifetime of struggling with my gender, I've decided to accept myself as I am, inside and out. I am happy and privileged to be surrounded by people who support me in this decision. I was really nervous to announce this news because I'm normally too concerned with what people think of me, but fuck it. Sam is genderqueer or non-binary.”

It is good that more and more people are becoming aware of having multiple genders. The fact that people do not fit into a certain gender is also increasingly accepted.
For example, a gender-neutral upbringing can contribute to increasing equality between different gender roles. The differences between men and women, and which behavior you should show, are largely dictated by the environment. In a gender-neutral upbringing, it is assumed that this does not restrict children in developing their own preferences and personality. This by not focusing on gender. A gender-neutral upbringing actually indicates that all of your child's choices are good, not one better than the other. Parents who raise their children in a gender-neutral way therefore give them complete freedom in their choices of toys, clothing or dreams for the future. They make no distinction between the sexes. More and more people are raising their children in a gender neutral way, resulting in greater equality in society.

Plan
With this fact and the fact that more and more is possible in today's society, I would like to make something based on the 'being' of a certain gender and the certain image that should be propagated with it. Sam Smith does not see himself as a man and not as a woman and is therefore non-binary. It is good that it is increasingly possible to be yourself and to have a certain name for this. Sam wears eyeliner and make up, but dresses in masculine clothes such as suits, albeit in pink. He carries out both 'female' and 'masculine images'. He demands attention for being yourself and tries to propagate this image to the rest of the world.

I also have to deal with certain expectations of being the girl. Why are certain values ​​tied to a certain gender and why? Partly because of this I would like to make a gender neutral photo report. My friend Dijk has struggled all his life with specifying to one particular gender. In his childhood he wanted to be a girl, during his teenage years he had long hair and now his hair is off and he is trying to find out who he is. He often has the feeling that he is too feminine or not feminine enough. He constantly wonders whether he fits the stereotypical image. We often talk about this and the fact that it shouldn't matter. This gave me the idea to take pictures of him as a boy, with both male and female aspects coming out. For example, the use of make up is still seen as something for women, while more and more men are also wearing make up as a form of expression and care.

So I want to make gender neutral photos that emphasize both sides of Dijk. Dijk will wear different outfits with many layers: because his identity has several layers and aspects. He will be wearing a somewhat feminine white turtleneck, with a pink unisex shirt over it, but also black wide pleated pants and a red skirt. Wearing a beret and a crown will point out the feminine and sweeter aspects. When taking these photos, it is very important how Dijk feels in the clothes. By letting go of certain clothing standards, I take him out of the comfort zone to be able to look for himself more. He will also be wearing eyeliner. This is new to him and I look forward to his reaction.
In addition, I will also portray Kim in combination with Dijk. They represent the two genders, but neither of them wear the outfits that specifically belong to a certain gender. The relationship between Kim and Dijk will be central and how they relate to each other. I already have certain images and poses in my head for this collaboration, but it is also mainly about looking in the moment.

Design and process
I will be taking the pictures with my Canon EOS 4000D camera with a standard 18-55 DC lens. We are going to shoot the photos in an empty barn and in the yard of Dijk. There is also a tennis court in the yard. Dijk I will portray in a gender-mixed way. This space provides a quiet background, but looks construction-like, because it is not completely finished. It gives the idea of ​​a work in the making, the process is still going on, as is the increasing acceptance of different genders. I want to create a visual work of art inspired by a baby mobile. Gender is thus taught from childhood. I will hang the pictures as pendants in the baby mobile: This is the prospect for the next generation. They are raised with the idea that it doesn't matter who and what you are and how you shape it, everyone is equal. So the photos in the mobile show the baby that it's good to let go of having different genders and that it doesn't matter so much anymore. When looking at the moving pictures, the baby gets this, as it were. The child is raised with this. It becomes 'normal'. The photos show several sides of Dijk's identity as a person (also in combination with Kim).
I hope that the end result is a photo report that shows that there is no such thing as a certain image that you have to comply with. It's about feeling good in your own body and how you express it. The only image we should hold to ourselves is the image we want to propagate of ourselves and not what everyone else is expected to propagate. The baby mobile will show that it's okay to be yourself.

Result
We shot a lot of photos with a lot of different locations, poses, outfits and makeup. On the day itself I went to see what a beautiful image it was. Dijk's reaction to the clothes he put on was also very important. At first he didn't feel completely comfortable in the turtleneck with the pink shirt, but when it was decided to put a trench coat over it, taking the pictures went very well. We tried multiple accessories, headwear, and makeup to see what worked best. It was important to Kim that she looked 'tough', as a masculine aspect, but also 'sweet' and 'soft', as a more feminine aspect.
Dijk was very open to everything. There wasn't a single outfit he said he didn't want to wear. He actually found it interesting. When giving the pleated pants to Dijk, he had to swallow, but once he had it on, he thought it was beautiful. With the skirt there was immediate enthusiasm to see what that was like. When we were done with the photos, Dijk was very surprised at how nice and liberating a skirt could be. So the process was also very valuable and I certainly gained new insights.

I have selected the photos and printed them in square shapes, this gives a nice picture in the construction of the baby mobile. I tied sticks together with gray thread. The photos hang from this on pieces of wire. Before deciding to use this construction, I tried several things, such as making a 'prison' at the top, but it didn't work out tight enough. In addition, I wanted to convey that the further generations would not be imprisoned, but would be free in expression. This construction worked better in showing the future.

I made sure that the front and back of the 'pictures' of the photos pasted together fit together. I've played with different heights and lengths of the wires, but I liked them best when they're even. I also played with adding different layers, but the final result is most like a mobile. The photos are constantly rotating and never stand still. This stands for a dynamic identity that is time-bound. Because the photos move, we see different sides and this stands for not having one specific identity, but being able and allowed to deviate. In the video you can see how the photos move and how the scaffolding is designed. The music is a baby music tune, used when powering a mobile.

The video can be found below the photos.