Project statement for final:
How did the LGBTQ community, and lesbians, in particular, find each other in a time when they were heavily persecuted? This has been a question that I have spent time pondering and researching. Articles and queer blogs all agree that "signaling" (the act of dressing or acting in a certain way to hint at one's identity) has been popular for over 100 years. In the 1920s, many signals were adopted by the LGBTQ community. Many popular signals that you were a lesbian included handing a hopeful lover violets or lavender, wearing a monocle and other typically male attire, cutting your hair short, smoking a cigarette, and more. These signals worked because if you were not part of the community, you would have no idea that it meant anything. There would be no danger, as there would be if you outright asked. This idea of signaling is still present in our culture, even though being gay is not a crime. It is still easier to hint at the idea than to risk saying it out loud.
This idea of signaling brought me to my project. I am capturing my version of the beginnings of signaling. These pieces represent not only visual examples of the signals people might have used 100 years ago, but also the shame you would feel having this identity that is persecuted. These photos encapsulate my idea of lesbian love, fear, anger, and hope. These photos are dark, desperate, and historical with a modern twist. Hands holding each other tightly- one dressed as a man to stay safe. Hiding behind violets- the thing that helped you find your lover safely. Holding a woman in your arms, lips touching each other, the beautiful and angry parts of love and fear.
The camera I used to take these is the Nikon D700 (shout out my grandpa for letting me borrow his awesome camera!) I used Adobe Lightroom Classic to edit these because I get it free this year from my school! Community college programs are awesome please use your community resources!!
The camera we used for these photos is a Holga camera with 120 film and Pentax K1000 camera with 35mm film. Holga cameras were made in 1982 and are fairly low quality, and thats exactly why we used it! They make these awesome double exposure shots like the second photo. More coming soon...
Secret Symbols and Signals. LGBT+ Cultural Heritage, https://www.lgbtculturalheritage.com/secret-symbols
Medhurst, Posted byEleanor. From Lavender to Violet: The Lesbian Obsession with Purple. Dressing Dykes, 20 Aug. 2021, https://dressingdykes.com/2021/08/20/from-lavender-to-violet/