Self Portrait Option 1

This first self portrait option made me realize there is actually more to gender. I am more than my gender. A photo of the back of someone's head, although in my case I am clearly male, doesn't always reveal one's gender. It shows that I am not barred by my gender to make my own decisions. The plain background of the photo emphasizes that all of us are the same, we are people who have to make decisions. The emptiness around my head represents the fact that I can influence my own decisions, my surroundings don't have to influence anything, regardless of our gender. A person's gender shouldn't dictate what the person can and cannot do. According to our readings, in higher classes during the Middle Ages, women and men worked side by side, it wasn't until later when gender specialized and categorized people into certain roles, at least in the trade aspect of life. Gender, is merely that, our sex, it should have nothing to do with what we decide to do with our lives. There is so much opportunity out there in the world that gender should be the last thing that controls where and what we do. This photo demonstrates clearly that I am male, but more importantly that gender is not everything, women and men are above anything, people. The back of my head shows you no facial features that lets you know how I carry my gender, it shows you only that I am male, and that I will probably be guided through life by the fact that I am male. This self-portrait is hard to hide the fact that I am indeed male, but it doesn't hide the fact that I can make so many decisions without even thinking of the fact I am male, being male sometimes just shouldn't matter, because after all, we are all people, and all deserve to do what we want with ourselves regardless of our gender.