"Anti-gay Bulling"
9 out of every 10 queer kids are bullied, beaten, and bashed!
9 out of every 10 queer kids are bullied, beaten, and bashed!
The above photo was taken on October 20, 2010. It was also the day where many people wore purple in memory of the recent suicides caused by anti-gay bullying. To learn more about that click here and here. My models are Justin Killingsworth (playing the bully) and Tam Nyguen (playing the victim). I would first like to state that Justin is pro gay rights and that no children were actually punched, bullied, or hurt during this photo shoot. All the bruises were created with make up. The bloody nose was made with fake blood purchased at a halloween store.
There were a few challenges I had to work through with this shoot. The first was trying to get both of my models at the same time. But the two biggest ones were the awkwardness in the air during the shoot. I felt awful asking Justin to pretend to beat Tam up because he would never hurt anyone because they're gay. Another challenge was trying to get Tam to look like she's actually in pain. The last one was a personal challenge: trying to remember that the bruises and blood were only fake and trying to finish the shoot before lunch ended.
In this picture I have Tam sitting on the ground and Justin walking away as if he's finished the beating and is going home. I had Tam wear my rainbow cuff and my other bracelet that says "LOVE" (which you can't see in this picture). The reason why I had her wear those bracelets is because it shows that it's not just any bullying but it's anti-gay bullying. In this picture she was actually holding her hair back because it kept getting in the way of the make up but it works because it looks like she's just holding her face because she's in pain. The location I shot at is in the ally way near classroom 116. I decided to use Tam as the victim because she is sweet, adorable, and so innocent. Another reason is because when bullies find out someone is gay or they think someone's gay they don't care who that person is, they don't care if that person is defenseless or can't fight back they will go after them.
The feeling of this photo is dark, once again. I don't think any photographer could possibly make this image positive in any way. This photo is purposely dark. I want people to look at this picture and see her face and feel horrible. I want them to wish that they could have protected her. I want them to feel her pain. And I want them to want to do something about it! School is suppose to be a safe place for all children! No matter what age, sex, race, or orientation! Every child is supposed to have a safe learning environment.
Links:
Below is a picture of the make up that I did on Tam
Bye
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