by Jessica Carreras
When Charzette "Charlie T" Torrence first started taking pictures of her friends, she had no idea what it would end up amounting to. But now, her "Just As We Are" exhibit, an array of highly personal black and white photos of LGBT leaders, performers, artists, educators and activists, has erupted.
For Torrence, it was just a way to express who the gay community really was comprised of – a sort of response to images in the media of crazy, sex-loving, partying LGBT men and women. "I did 'Just As We Are' because in the past, the topic came up on gay images in the media," the photographer recalls. "Fun loving, wild – that's how the media portrays us."
So Torrence set out to prove the stereotypes wrong. Now, her show, which has spent the past two and a half years on display at various locations in New York, has come to the Affirmations Community Center in Ferndale. The exhibit, which received fiscal sponsorship from the New York Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center, opened on April 4 at Affirmations and will run through early May.
Torrence returns to Detroit with a local legacy behind her. She was the first African American graduate from Detroit's College of Creative Studies photography program in the early '90s, and took some of the first professional photos for Hotter Than July in the late '90s. Since then, her photography has been featured in Black Enterprise, Code, Essence and other publications. But nothing could compare to her current project.
"Just As We Are" opened Friday night in the Pittmann-Puckett Art Gallery to a large crowd who came to see the renowned Detroit-born and raised photographer's latest creations. The event was punctuated by a poignant panel discussion about "Our Gay Image in the Media." The panel was moderated by Johnny Jenkins, Jr. of the Arcus Foundation, and included the voices of Affirmations Executive Director Leslie Thompson, Andrea Wilson of SPICE, radio personality Madisun Leigh and FOX 2 anchor Charles Pugh.
The exhibit is comprised of 36 black and white portraits, which line the walls next to descriptions of the subject and their reaction to the project. The participants are diverse, including professional stuntwoman Rose Sias, dancer Michael Leon Thomas, porn star Bobby Blake, Columbia University sociology professor Mignon R. Moore and PlanetOut's Director of Online Media Josh Tager, who was photographed by his fireplace with his cats.
In the middle of the gallery wall, a picture of Detroit activist and pioneer in the city's lesbian movement June Washington stands out amongst the other photos. Unlike the other sharply-focused shots of smiling faces, Washington's photo is slightly blurred, with the pensive subject looking away from the camera.
"I'm always deep in thought in Martha's Vineyard," Washington says of the photo's location. The photo was taken on a beach and in it, Washington seems to be over 6 feet tall, though in real life, she stands more than a foot below that. "She (Charlie T) was below me looking up," she explains of her belied stature.
But to viewers, it is more the regal stance she takes, as though she is staring out at her kingdom, lost in thought. "When you go to the vineyard, it's not pretentious at all," Washington continues. "They don't care about who you are or how you dress. You can find yourself there."
The accepting mentality fits right into the exhibit, which, Torrence explains, is meant to show that gay people are not strange and should not be feared. Instead, she hopes it will show that the LGBT community is comprised of individuals who are just like everyone else. "The only way we can change things is to show positive images of ourselves," she says. "I did this (project) on a dream of a possibility to change one step at a time."
The reactions of the panel showed a similar belief in change. "It made me proud," panelist and activist Teri Leverette said of seeing the gallery. "This helped further shape my image of what it is to be human."
To Charles Pugh, the exhibit and gallery opening was proof in the community's power to influence youth positively. During the panel discussion, he spoke of his decision to come out. "The youth need to know that one of the most powerful newscasters in the city is fighting for them," he said. "You don't have to be in the closet to be gay and successful."
The next step, the panelists all agreed, was to work on changing the images of the LGBT community in the media. "We're going to have to change how the media defines us," Dr. Kofi Adoma of the Karibu house said. "There is a lens of male privilege and white privilege, even in LGBT media."
The panel and attendees agreed that it starts with positive images like those in Torrence's exhibit. And now, with the hope of pioneers like her, no one will have to ask who the LGBT community really is ever again.
View a gallery of images from the opening
