Laureen Griffin

Before you read this excerpt, I must say it makes me feel incredibly uncomfortable and angry… the presumption is, a “transsexual” or “transvestite” is sexually repulsive to normal humans as Baudrillard describes former porn star La Cicciolina as devoid of all sensuality — “a numbed android who by virtue of this very fact was perfect raw material for a synthetic idol”. (The idol Baudrillard refers to is Madonna, the virgin.) There is a sardonic quality to his work as Baudrillard uses the transexual body to argue the myth of sexual liberation. However the lack of voice given to the individual who chooses to transition from one sexual identity to another, reflects that all too familiar strategy of using ‘the other’ as an example. Furthermore, this is not a discussion on sex as a category of male-female but sex as an activity altered through the use of prosthesis. So why not use breast implants and dildos as an example - implants are clearly designed for the pleasure of the sexual partner or flaneur as nearly all feeling is removed from the breast during the surgical procedure and the object of desire is grossly exaggerated to ensure clear view from quite a distance. See Orlan and the Work of Art in the Age of Hyper-mechanical Organic Reproduction.

Jean Baudrillard, The Transparency of Evil
excerpt from pgs. 2o-25
(more…)

Wow - coming out….I “came out” back in 1999 when I was 36 years old. I remember thinking: “I have never felt so feminine in my life!” After years of struggling to wear lingerie to please a man, I was thrilled to adorn my body with the very same piece of clothing for the pleasure of a woman. That was the beginning, until the butch/fem thing crept into my dating life and once again, I did not want to seem fem for the sake of the existence of masculinity. I am spiteful… Included in my journey is getting sober, going to therapy both physical and talk. In the past 8 years I have gone through an incredible roller coaster ride.

First feminine, then androgynous (more…)

It is 1978: From afar - I catch myself watching CJ at the “back door” smoking cigarettes like the rest of us, but never talking to anyone. CJ is a few years older than me. CJ and I never speak and we do not seem to have the same friends. It isn’t until one day when Mr. D. our principal calls “Cindy” to his office. CJ is a girl, at least according to my high school principal. Soon after my new found awareness, Denise comes to me saying “You are the only one I can trust, but I must talk to someone. I have been fooled and I am so embarrassed.” I barely know Denise, we are in a few classes together, but rarely speak. Maybe we smoke the same brand of cigarettes and bum off each other from time to time. I never know why people trust me with their secrets. Anyway, Denise had had a date with CJ and was revolted to find a wad of tissue in CJ’s crotch in exchange for the penis she was expecting to find. I reassure Denise, that it was OK and CJ was most likely not trying to fool her, but was certainly taking on an identity that felt more secure. Today - I can not remember how it all turned out, but I never again saw CJ smoking at the back door. I think CJ dropped out of high school.

A few years later, I found myself in a class titled “Anthropology of the Family”. I thought - this is it! We talked and read about individual roles in the family, nature vs.nurture, and gender - including babies born with ambiguous genitals. How we are raised vs. what our body chemistry is. Unfortunately due to my own fears of ambiguous gender roles in myself, and fear of getting too close to the subject matter at hand, I dropped out. I also thought my parents would see the class as irrelevant - so when I changed majors from psychology to art, I kept Biology to keep my science oriented family happy. Now here I am again - only this time my family will just have to make do!

The Gender Portraiture Project is one of the most fulfilling experiences of my life!

Reading Michel Foucault, The History of Sexuality, an introduction, volume 1:

pg. 53 - 54

“I suppose that the first two points will be granted me; I imagine that people will accept my saying that, for two centuries now, the discourse on sex has been multiplied rather than rarefied; and that if it has carried with it taboos and prohibitions, it has also, in a more fundamental way, ensured the solidification and implantation for an entire sexual mosaic. Yet the impression remains that all this has by and large played only a defensive role. By speaking about it so much, by discovering it multiplied, partitioned off, and specified precisely where one had place it, what one was seeking essentially was simply to conceal sex: a screen-discourse, a dispersion-avoidance. Until Freud at least, the discourse on sex

(more…)

When I was in grad school (1994-1996), I often did not understand suggested readings in theory and social/cultural critique. It was not until I moved to Philadelphia, where recommended readings from people into queer theory and otherness, began to make sense. Now, ten years later, I am beginning to put the pieces together. When I was reading critique by people who ascribed to a norm created by Eurocentric men, I was alienated and put into my place of otherness. As a result my emotions kicked in, I shut down and literally could not follow the train of thought. Granted, philosophers and theorists tend to write in a special language devoted only to those who are in the know. But for the most part it sent me into a downward spiral where in Philly, I crashed.

I may or may not add commentary to the writings I quote. But I would like to add that I am including people who alienate through comparison to the other such as several essays by Baudrillard as well as those who are part of the culture of which they write such as Michel Foucault, Judith Butler, Edward Said, bell hooks, etc.

Building community can be so cliche, but I crave theory inclusive of my lifestyle.

Challenging family expectations…

Ellen owns a health and beauty salon where she gives beautiful precision haircuts and styles.

Sunday, Jake and I met for a photoshoot - I printed them on Hahnemuhle photo rag bright white and the reds came out luscious… Come to AIRSPACE and see - they are framed and displayed on the fireplace mantle.

Thank you Tami Fertig for adding my project last minute!

Tami wrties: “Laureen Griffin wants to take your picture. Not only that. She wants to have a conversation about gender norms and stereotypes while setting up the shot. As part of her ongoing “Gender Portraiture Project,” Griffin — AIRSPACE’s current 40th Street artist in residence — has created a temporary photography studio at the West Philly gallery, and is inviting you to stop in, pose and chat. more…

An introduction to the
Gender Portraiture Project
Recent works by Laureen Griffin

October 9 - November 2, 2007
Opening reception: Friday, October 12, 5 - 8 pm

AIRSPACE, 40th Street Artist-in-Residence
4013 Chestnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104

New Gallery hours: Tuesday & Thursday, 10 am - 2 pm; Friday, 10 am - 6 pm; Sunday, 1 - 5 pm.