Each of the 74 black and white portraits features the subject facing a camera against a blank backdrop, some donning smiles while others maintain stoic expressions. While subjects of the photos vary in appearance, they all have one thing in common — none of the 74 individuals identify as completely heterosexual.
Members of the Dartmouth community had their photos taken for a nationwide project titled “Self Evident Truths” last September, which aims to photograph 10,000 people who do not identify as 100 percent straight. The photos were published online this month.
The photographer behind the project, iO Tillett Wright, set up the photo shoot last fall outside of the Rockefeller Center using a canvas as the backdrop.
News of the project traveled through Facebook and word of mouth on campus. Prior to having their photo taken, students filled out a non-disclosure form and a separate questionnaire. Wright took only one photo of each person, according to students involved.
The questions had people rank themselves from one to 100 in terms of gender identity and sexual orientation towards those of the same gender, as well as place themselves on a scale from hyper to non-sexual.
The aim of the project is to spread awareness of the broad spectrum of human sexuality.
Yejadai Dunn ’16, one of the subjects of the project, said she heard about the project through a mutual friend. She had picture taken, she said, because she wanted to contribute to the visibility of the gay community for others.
Sophie Sheeline ’16 who learned of the project from a friend, said that whether or not to participate was not a big decision for her, as the only requirement to take part was that one does not identify as 100 percent straight and she fulfilled this requirement.
The project is important, Sheeline said, because it photographs gay people from all walks of life, from San Francisco and Los Angeles pride parades to students at various colleges. So far, the project has reached over 10 schools including Boston College, Amherst College and Davidson College.
“I think it shows that there are people who do not identify as completely straight or as one gender everywhere,” Sheelin said.
Nick Moolenijzer ’17 was invited to the event on Facebook.
“It also shows how Dartmouth has progressed,” Moolenijzer said. “I can’t imagine this would happen 20 years ago, 30 years ago...that Dartmouth would accept people coming to campus to photograph queer students. It would have been a very weird thing to happen.”
Women and gender studies professor Michael Bronski said that the main issue with college LGBT event planning is reaching out beyond the LGBT community to the entire student body.
Examples would include holding LGBT-centric events that not just members of the gay community would attend. The project itself is interactive and inclusive in that people can view it on their own time, combined with the fact that it was not framed as an LGBT project but rather one for people who are not entirely heterosexual, Bronski said.
The main challenge will be making sure enough people see the project, Bronski said. He would have liked to see the photos set up in a campus facility such as the Hopkins Center or Collis Student Center.
Being included in the project also includes Dartmouth in a national conversation about sexuality, Bronski said, and that this could help serve as a positive public relations activity. He said Dartmouth could have been chosen as one of the locations due to its reputation as an Ivy League institution.
Once all 10,000 photos have been collected, the artist will create an installation on the front lawn of the Washington Monument prior to the 2016 presidential election.
After completion, people will be allowed to submit their own photos and stories online, thus rendering it indefinitely expansive.
