Paris Visone | Gender Roles and Appearance

In this series of photographs, my intention is two-fold.  First, is to explore the gender dynamics and sexuality of my subjects.  Secondly, I am trying to capture how these dynamics are transformed into “appearances” which my subjects feel they must uphold. These dynamics are preserved as they are passed down from one generation to the next.  “You have to look good.”  “You have to be a man.” “You have to look young if you are old, and old if you are young.”  “The more muscles you have, the better you are.” These social pressures are a focus in many people’s daily lives.  For most people, young and old, maintaining and upholding an “image” has become an obsession.
This obsession extends not only to appearance, but also to the gender roles one is imprinted with at a very young age. Throughout the course of their life, the majority of people are trapped in the confines of these roles, most oblivious to the existence of any confines at all.  One cannot escape that which he does not see.
There are layers of image-consciousness at work. I am emphasizing the way the subjects want to be perceived, the way the photographer is capturing them, and the way the viewer perceives the image as a whole.