Alyson

How old are you, and where are you from?

24. Summerland, British Columbia.

How would you identify your gender?

Female I guess.

What presentation made you feel least like yourself? Why?

Probably the black dress. It wasn’t actually the dress, it was the stupid shoes. I don’t need them - I am already stupid tall. And I don’t like wearing heels because people say, “You are SOOOO tall.”

Did you gain any perspective on gender identity/expression in other people during the project?

Yes. When Reese would show me the spectrum photos of different people and would say “guess their normal,” I got it wrong every time.

In your life, was there another time you explored/experimented with gender identity/expression? If so, what type of experience was it?

Um, there was a time when I went off the deep end and decided to wear lots of jewelry. It was between freshman and sophomore year. I don’t remember why. I think it was because I really wanted to get a tattoo but I was too much of a coward so instead I pierced my ears and got lots of jewelry. I put in big plugs and wore lots of necklaces and rings and that lasted 6 months and then I stopped.

Are there things you would be more willing to do now after modeling for the project that you wouldn’t have done before?

I hated skinny jeans before this project (I had a very visceral reaction to them), but then I was wearing a pair in a photo and now I would consider wearing them. I just think they might be good in the winter to tuck into boots.

What words do you feel represent your identity? (could be things like race, class, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, language, ability, etc.)

Anglo-saxon. Western-European more specifically. Agnostic. Tall. Athletic.

What do you feel is the most salient aspect of your identity (the part that shows the most on the outside despite the clothes you are wearing)? How do you feel that this part of your identity was represented and/or misrepresented in this project?

My height. If you are asking about purely visual, it is all my height. It was really not that obvious in the photographs because there was no scale, which is fine with me.