"The Identity Project," from photographer Sarah Deragon, challenges the way that we compartmentalize and think about queerness and identity.
The photo series captures the way subjects want to present themselves to the world around them and communicate their personal ways of self-identifying. Mainstream understandings of what it means to be lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) tend to be narrow and specific, but with "The Identity Project," we can see the infinite shades and hues of queerness that make up the spectrum of human identity.
The Huffington Post chatted with Deragon this week about her work and how the project has grown.
The Huffington Post: What is your driving vision for The Identity Project?
Sarah Deragon: My main vision for The Identity Project is to expand what we normally understand to be the LGBTQ communities. I wanted to create a photo project that allowed participants to self-identify and stand up and be seen for who they really are. I honestly thought that the project would be a small collection of 50 or so photographs, but the response to the project was so profound that I decided to expand it and travel to several US cities like New York City, Portland, Chicago and soon Austin to photograph more people. I imagine that this will be an ongoing project for me throughout my lifetime.