Nan Goldin: The Other Side

In her photographs of drag queens, Goldin is  both glamorizing the transgender community and illuminating their struggle to achieve a sense of coherent identity in a society which promotes a dichotomized view of gender. I felt like her work normalizes a fluid gender identity and and as such perpetuates the postmodern notions inherent in feminist discourse that rejects notions of singular, apriori identity. Postmodern discourse emphasizes identity as socially constructed, and Goldin's depiction of the beauty and vitality of the transgendered community illustrates the beauty and freedom inherent in an ambiguous gender identity. Many of her photos convey a sense of confrontation through her choice to photograph them face on, which emphasizes a shock factor that illuminates the way contemporary society finds comfort in defining themselves in opposition to an "other". In her use of the term "euphoria" to replace "dysphoria". She illustrates how the term has inherently negative connotations and perpetuates their status as inferior beings. Visually she disrupts the same connotations by illustrating how they are the same as all other people. This is not my first experience with Nan Goldin's work, but every time I encounter it impressed by what she manages to do with her photography. Her celebration of a traditionally marginalized group not on frees them but criticizes the many social structures that have sub alternated them.