Unbounded - Being Gender Diverse

In June 2022 I had a chat and a photoshoot with Francesca Menghini, an Amsterdam-based photographer who asked me to participate in her project ‘Unbounded - Being gender diverse’, focused on portraying people from the queer community and sharing a written text with some words about themselves and their experiences within society and queerness.

Statemente from the photographer:
“Each encounter I make working on this series allows me to realize more and more how much discrimination towards those who are gender diverse exists in our society, something that I, as a cisgender person, could barely imagine.
I hope that this project can contribute to destroying the bias that still causes so much suffering and inequality and can make people understand that defending the rights of the LGBTQIA+ community should be in the interest of all.”

Statement from Irene:
“There are moments in life where I realize how precious my queerness is: it makes me experience life, myself, and other people with an openness and acceptance that I am very grateful for.
When I was younger my queerness was something I tried to hide or reject, now I try to be as open and vocal as I can about it. It’s not always easy, or possible, depending on the context, but it made me understand that I should never again hide or dim my light for anyone.
Being non-binary, I learned to give myself time, space and kindness. There is a longing tenderness about being fully acceptive of one’s body, mind, and spirit.
I want to do everything I can to imagine and create a future where there is no right way to be but to be who we are.”