GENDER STUDIES

Opening our eyes to the beauty of all humans, regardless of their born gender, this outsize publication by the famous erotica photographer includes a CD of all the artistic content. The subject is extraordinary, masterfully executed portraits of unknown people willing to be photographed after contact via social media, who all have something to say about their own sexuality. 20 years after the publication Modern Lovers, a body of work on androgyny and transgender, Bettina Rheims now presents Gender Studies and in the light of current controversial debates on gender theory, her models display remarkable courage by questioning, modifying and celebrating their identities. There are women who have had their breasts removed and nipples re-inserted who truly look like men, beautiful women who still have a penis, hair, makeup, tattoos, and the photographer has asked each model to wear torn bandage-style neutral underwear in some cases, but mostly near nudity against a whitened background. Colour, 76 pages, 25.5 x 33.5cm.