23/02/2018
Started in 2015, the Project Androgyny is a photographic series with the theme: “everyone is mentally androgynous”. While, people are physiologically differentiated into males and females, we are all psychologically androgynous, to some extent. Androgyny seeks to express this psychological aspect through black and white portraiture. Each image shows the particularity of its subject, revealing the co-existence of both masculine and feminine traits. Thus, these images can move towards dispelling the myth that people can claim only one gender identity or that their gender must align with their physiological s*x.
It is undeniable that people of the same physiological s*x share some common characteristics. However, long-term focus on these commonalities and the repeated mentioning of them has led to the formation of gender stereotypes. For example, people generally believe that men should be tough and strong and women should be tender and kind. But, It is too arbitrary to impose externally defined gender norms on a person. Does it really make sense to categorize people’s psychological gender (and social gender roles) with such a gender binary framework?
The photographs are monochromatic in order to draw attention to the unique (often subtle) traits of our subjects. Through the process of interviewing and filming each subject, the photographer was able to build a nuanced understanding of their personalities. It is these nuances that we seek to reveal here. After all, it is difference, rather than commonality, that makes an individual unique.
-Gender and Yin/Yang
One way to approach the problematic male/female binary is through the Chinese philosophy of Yin and Yang. Traditional Chinese medicine pays attention to the proportion of Yin and Yang in a body; as the Chinese saying goes: “Neither Yin nor Yang can proliferate by itself”. Through constant interaction, they influence and transmute each other. Applying this philosophy, we understand that individual personalities are defined by a fluidity across and between characteristics. Hence, it becomes clear that “everyone is mentally androgynous”, just as the Yin and the Yang aspects of characteristics co-exist in an individual.
-No Labeling
As socially-contructed gender stereotypes are not present in every individual, s*x-based, gender profiling imposes arbitrary external definitions onto individuals. This photography project hopes to break down these stereotypes and labels in order to draw focus to the unique multi-faceted-ness of each individual.
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Androgyny（雌雄同體）是一個從2015年正式開始的攝影項目，意在表達「每個人都是雌雄同體」這一概念。在生理性別上，人往往被涇渭分明地劃分為男女；但在實際的心理層面上，雙性特質在每個個體生命中都或多或少地共存。Androgyny項目刪繁就簡，通過黑白人物肖像聚焦每一人獨特的內在特質，直視內心雙性特質的共存，打破傳統單一性別的刻板印象。
不可否認，同一性別的人確實會具有性格共性。但對於這些共性的長期關注導致了世人對於男女性格的刻板印象，如男人當堅強，女人應溫柔。但用這些模式化的性別標籤去定義一個人，是否太過武斷？人的心理性別、社會性別是否真的遵從於簡單的性別二分法？
在攝影作品中，我們用簡單的黑白灰讓觀者聚焦於人物肖像，讓個體特質自己說話。隨著拍攝與訪談的進行，我們越發認識到，每個人的性格中都或多或少擁有所謂的「男性特質」和「女性特質」。性別的性格共性並不能定義個體。因為個體之所以成為個體，源於差異，而非共性。
性別與陰陽
相較於「男／女」這種「非此即彼」的性別二分法，或許我們可以嘗試借用陰陽學說去詮釋心理性別。在中醫的陰陽學說之中，關注的是一個個體中的陰陽比例。所謂「孤陰不生，獨陽不長」，一個個體中的陰與陽正是互根互用，彼此依存的；而二者更在不斷地交感互藏之中相互影響、相互轉化。同樣的，每一個人的個性，其實也有不同的面向，具有不同的程度，可以自由流動。或許，每個人都是雌雄同體，都共存著性格的陰陽特質。
拒絕標籤
性格共性並非在每一個人身上都適用，其他的標籤化描述同樣引導了對於個體生命的粗暴定義。這個攝影項目在表達性別觀念之餘，同樣也希望傳遞拒絕一切標籤化定義的理念，關注在每一個獨立的個體，還原每一個人的多面性。
