Julia Gunther: Rainbow Girls* (South Africa)Artist Statement:Undeterred by the daily threats of viol
Julia Gunther: Rainbow Girls* (South Africa)Artist Statement:Undeterred by the daily threats of violence, constant intimidation and at the risk of being cast out by their own families, the lesbian women of Gugulethu and Khayelitsha township continue to be proud of who they are and the love they represent.South Africa is still home to high levels of violence against women and children, despite a constitution widely regarded as the most progressive in the world, and after a legislative overhaul that safeguards women’s and children’s rights.This series is the 3rd installment of Julia Gunther’s ongoing project ‘Proud Women of Africa’: a photographic record of women who live or work in Africa. This series captured portraits of young women before they went on stage to competing in the 'Ms. Lesbian 2012’ competition in South Africa. *The photographer really should ditch the 'rainbow’ and also replace 'girl’ with WOMEN ; ) See her website for interviews with each woman, and the active community and support groups they have created for themselves, by themselves.**Its also worth noting that this series owes a debt to the work of Zanele Muholi (previously posted here), a photographer and self-proclaimed visual activist whose sensitive portraits challenge the stigma surrounding gays and lesbians in South Africa, debunking the common rhetoric that homosexuality is un-African, and addressing the preponderance of hate crimes against homosexuals in her native country. She has worked tirelessly and under threat of her own life to document this vibrant community. -- source link
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