All images © Roman Manfredi
We/Us is an intergenerational photography and oral history project that celebrates the undocumented presence of butches and studs from working-class backgrounds within the British landscape. The project explores the experience of female masculinity through the structures of class and race all over the UK, capturing and exploring our diversity as well as our commonality. When searching for images of butches and studs online, most that come up are from a by-gone era or from the US. The conversations around gender and identity today are often academic and London-centric, sometimes forgetting that our identities are informed by our every day lived experiences. I seek to express my deep love, pride and respect for us through the viewfinder of my Hasselblad 500cm.
The project is shot on medium format film resulting in 41 framed 24" x 24" c-type prints and an audio installation taken from interviews with the participants. Audio excerpts can be heard here. My vision for this project is for it to one day be accessible as a book.
Our history and our lived experience is our gift to the world
- Joan Nestle, Restricted Country
We/Us is an intergenerational photography and oral history project that celebrates the undocumented presence of butches and studs from working-class backgrounds within the British landscape. The project explores the experience of female masculinity through the structures of class and race all over the UK, capturing and exploring our diversity as well as our commonality. When searching for images of butches and studs online, most that come up are from a by-gone era or from the US. The conversations around gender and identity today are often academic and London-centric, sometimes forgetting that our identities are informed by our every day lived experiences. I seek to express my deep love, pride and respect for us through the viewfinder of my Hasselblad 500cm.
The project is shot on medium format film resulting in 41 framed 24" x 24" c-type prints and an audio installation taken from interviews with the participants. Audio excerpts can be heard here. My vision for this project is for it to one day be accessible as a book.
Our history and our lived experience is our gift to the world
- Joan Nestle, Restricted Country
