In The Dressing Room, of local LGBTQ clubs in Queens, New York the participants and audiences have many problems, maybe with money, lovers, drugs, or with work; some have visas, while others are without documents; some are sex workers, others are just people that enjoy the show. But in this place, largely hidden from the outside world, everyone is considered the same, with an equal right to enjoy being who they are. They leave their hardships at the door and transfigure themselves into something luminous, even sacred.
The same-sex marriage is a right in the U.S but the LGBTQ Latino community still suffers from high levels of discrimination. As Latino immigrants, they face several disadvantages at once: racism, poverty, and homophobia. This community has a double challenge facing their identities because being an undocumented or unemployed, and sometimes both, plus the social discrimination, police harassment, high levels of poverty, and sex work become to be a permeant state of worry and fear. Many of them come to NewYork City, running away from the intolerance and violence against their sexual condition in many countries in South and Central America, where the life expectancy for a Transgender woman is 35 years old.
Ongoing project Translatinas: explores the challenges and resistance of transgender women from Central and South America as they face discrimination and cope with the psychological consequences of their personal histories of violence, discrimination, and sex work. This work documents intimate and collaborative portraits of these women in their homes; emphasizes portraying them as strong and resilient women, worthy of respect, rather than simply as victims deserving of pity.
The same-sex marriage is a right in the U.S but the LGBTQ Latino community still suffers from high levels of discrimination. As Latino immigrants, they face several disadvantages at once: racism, poverty, and homophobia. This community has a double challenge facing their identities because being an undocumented or unemployed, and sometimes both, plus the social discrimination, police harassment, high levels of poverty, and sex work become to be a permeant state of worry and fear. Many of them come to NewYork City, running away from the intolerance and violence against their sexual condition in many countries in South and Central America, where the life expectancy for a Transgender woman is 35 years old.
In T he Dressing Room, of local LGBTQ clubs in Queens, New York the participants and audiences have many problems, maybe with money, lovers, drugs, or with work; some have visas, while others are without documents; some are sex workers, others are just people that enjoy the show. But in this pl...
Ongoing project Translatinas: explores the challenges and resistance of transgender women from Central and South America as they face discrimination and cope with the psychological consequences of their personal histories of violence, discrimination, and sex work. This work document...
In The Dressing Room, of local LGBTQ clubs in Queens, New York the participants and audiences have many problems, maybe with money, lovers, drugs, or with work; some have visas, while others are without documents; some are sex workers, others are just people that enjoy the show. But in this place, largely hidden from the outside world, everyone is considered the same, with an equal right to enjoy being who they are. They leave their hardships at the door and transfigure themselves into something luminous, even sacred.
The same-sex marriage is a right in the U.S but the LGBTQ Latino community still suffers from high levels of discrimination. As Latino immigrants, they face several disadvantages at once: racism, poverty, and homophobia. This community has a double challenge facing their identities because being an undocumented or unemployed, and sometimes both, plus the social discrimination, police harassment, high levels of poverty, and sex work become to be a permeant state of worry and fear. Many of them come to NewYork City, running away from the intolerance and violence against their sexual condition in many countries in South and Central America, where the life expectancy for a Transgender woman is 35 years old.
Ongoing project Translatinas: explores the challenges and resistance of transgender women from Central and South America as they face discrimination and cope with the psychological consequences of their personal histories of violence, discrimination, and sex work. This work documents intimate and collaborative portraits of these women in their homes; emphasizes portraying them as strong and resilient women, worthy of respect, rather than simply as victims deserving of pity.
The same-sex marriage is a right in the U.S but the LGBTQ Latino community still suffers from high levels of discrimination. As Latino immigrants, they face several disadvantages at once: racism, poverty, and homophobia. This community has a double challenge facing their identities because being an undocumented or unemployed, and sometimes both, plus the social discrimination, police harassment, high levels of poverty, and sex work become to be a permeant state of worry and fear. Many of them come to NewYork City, running away from the intolerance and violence against their sexual condition in many countries in South and Central America, where the life expectancy for a Transgender woman is 35 years old.
Joana Toro Documentary Photographer
Joana Toro is a Colombian documentary photographer. working on immigration, Identity and social issues.
