Body Alchemy: Transsexual Portraits [Paperback]

Loren Cameron (Photographer)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 16, 1996

Body Alchemy: Transsexual Portraits is a unique and extraordinary photographic collection by artist Loren Cameron. Body Alchemy is Loren Cameron's intensely personal photo documentary of female-to-male transsexuals (FTMs). A transsexual himself, Cameron brings a sensitive, sophisticated insider's eye to his subject matter. Using documentary style, a series of before-and-after photographs documenting the transformation of a number of FTMs in Cameron's transsexual community, his own striking self-portraits, and intimate autobiographical text, Loren invites the viewer to experience this transformational rite of passage. Loren Cameron's work strikes a warm, familiar tone that invites the viewer's participation - even when the subject matter is quite startling.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The idea of gender is no long as fixed as it once was: Tootsie, La Cage aux Folles, and Milton Berle saw to that. But none of this has prepared us for Loren Cameron's amazing portraits of transsexuals. Beautifully reproduced and complemented with notes and short essays, these portraits of women who are now men may startle, but they will also make you marvel at the genuine complexities of life, sex, and desire. Body Alchemy might have been a curiosity, like Diane Arbus's photographs of those outside the physical and cultural mainstream, but Cameron's art is so empathetic, so precise, that we are left in awe and with a new understanding of the realities of being human.

Review

"Amazing..." -- The Advocate

"An irreplaceably valued documentation of a cultural moment" -- Diane Middlebrook, author, Anne Sexton: A Biography

"Andy Warhol, Robert Mapplethorpe, Dianne Arbus among many others have all trained their lenses on the transgendered figure. Never have the transgendered seriously photographed their own. Not until Loren Cameron, that is." -- Kate Bornstein, author, Gender Outlaw

"At just the moment postmodernism would have us believe there is nothing photography hasn't already shown us, Loren Cameron's images defy all expectations. Welcome to the future." -- Doug Nickel

"Cameron's strategy is to allow his subjects to speak for themselves, creating an informative and emotional document that is likely the first of its kind." -- Barbara DeGenevieve, Camerawork

"I was so drawn to Loren Cameron's photographs that I went to see the original exhibition on which the book is based several times. Like all good art it demystifies its subjects. Where other photographs of transgendered people, even those taken by talented outsiders, inevitably emphasize their 'otherness' and view them theatrically, Loren Cameron makes them seem so immediately familiar (even when the poses and nudity could seem, in other hands, shocking and confrontational). Perhaps because the subjects themselves are so comfortable with their own bodies and with the participant-observer, we are comfortable with tehm, too. No matter how distanced and detatched we may feel when we start to view these works, it is simply impossible to 'gawk' at them, to remove ourselves from the intimate experience we are witnessing." -- Richard M. Levine

"Loren Cameron's razor-sharp vision compels us to focus on the complex transition from which transsexual men emerge. Cameron's photographs are as exquisite as they are meaningful." -- Leslie Feinberg, author, Stone Butch Blues and Transgender Warriors

This collection of transsexual photos and interviews is not recommended for general library purchase, but any collection specializing in sexual/gender issues and any personal collector will find this a unique, intriguing survey of the transsexual experience. Anticipate graphic yet artistic black and white photos. -- Midwest Book Review

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 100 pages
• Publisher: Cleis Press; 1st edition (October 16, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1573440620
• ISBN-13: 978-1573440622
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 8.6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #808,009 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Empowering November 11, 2002

By Yankee girl

Format:Paperback

This book was one of the greatest gifts I have ever gotten myself. When I finished reading and looking at the beautiful photographs, I hugged the book to my chest.
This book not only told me thru writings but also showed me that I wasn't alone. This book meant the world to me as a bigendered female. I had only read about others transgender people, but had never seen anyone besides myself.
Thank you Mr.Cameron. :)
I recomend this book to anyone dealing with transgender issues- whether they be trans themself, a realtive or friend of a trans person, or just plain curious.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Must-Have for Young FTMs September 23, 1999

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

Young isolated FTM guys... BUY THIS BOOK. The before and after portraits of the guys will comfort and inspire you like nothing else will. Transitioning can be done... There are others like you... and they look great!

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Dreams can Come True December 21, 1999

By Sarah Knight

Format:Paperback

I purchased this book as a gift for a f2M friend of mine who drew a LOT of hope from it. Loren's camera and words have a strong impact. Understanding one's self, our true nature, is vital. Body Alchemy is a valuable lesson in that.