In just a few years, Carmen Carrera has become one of the most famous transgender women in American history. But the outspoken transgender activist has been very vocal about keeping the details of her body, especially her genitalia, out of public knowledge, explaining that transgender people face too much scrutiny over their genitals. Now, Carrera seems to have a had a change of heart and is now using her naked body as a message of beauty across genders in a new photo for the annual Life Ball.
The Life Ball, which is thrown each year by nonprofit organization, AIDS LIFE, is one of the world’s biggest AIDS charity events. This year, the event will be held in Vienna, Austria, and the promotional advertisements were lensed by famous photographer David LaChapelle, who enlisted Carrera to pose nude for the photo’s “The Garden of Earthly Delights” theme. However, the twist is that the ads are split into two photos, each of which show Carrera with different genitalia.
“Gender lines are blurred and every person is unique in how they see themselves. For me, the body is more than something to be looked at as an object of sexual gratification. The body is a beautiful housing for the soul that we are celebrating in this picture,” said LaChappelle about the photos.
Besides Carrera’s body, the posters also boast the words, “I’m Adam, I’m Eve, I’m Me,” which Carrera says speaks to exactly the way in which she sees beauty: genderless.
“Your gender should not matter in your heart or in the way you express your personality… My message is: beauty has no gender. At the end of the day beauty is beauty,” said Carrera.
Well, we definitely think the photos are provocative and will most likely inspire dialogue about gender and sexual diversity, as well as how beauty can come in many different shapes and forms.
Check out the NSFW photos here. – nicholas robinson
