Transition series

Transition 1/7 (Disconnection), Chaz Howkins, 2015, photograph

Transition 2/7 (Dysmorphia), Chaz Howkins, 2015, photograph

Transition 3/7 (Haircut), Chaz Howkins, 2015, photograph

Transition 4/7 (Testosterone), Chaz Howkins, 2015, photograph

Transition 5/7 (Bulking Up), Chaz Howkins, 2015, photograph

Transition 6/7 (Post-Op), Chaz Howkins, 2015, photograph 

Transition 7/7 (Top Surgery),  Chaz Howkins, 2015, photograph

I created this photographic series to document the transition of Barbie from female to male, starting with his sense of dysphoria in his female body and finishing with having had top surgery and being in a fully male body.  I felt it was important to document the process of the transition to shut down the idea that transgender people wake up one day and decide to have a sex change and highlight that transitioning is a long and complicated process.

Larger doll head

Half & Half, Chaz Howkins, 2015, manipulated doll bust

I wanted to create a piece similar to my before and after transition photo comparison without using photography, so created a male vs female doll using a larger doll bust.  I think the piece is fairly successful in its subtlety, though I could have done more to manipulate the body on the male side.

Gender Dysphoria

Longing, Chaz Howkins, 2015, photo manipulation

This photo is a simplistic portrayal of gender dysphoria as the doll stares at himself in the mirror, not recognising himself in the body he was born into.

Body Crossing

Arms, Chaz Howkins, 2015, photograph

I wanted to experiment further with the crossing of Barbie and Ken's bodies.  The open shoulder socket and differing skin tones make the arms look rather unnatural, but I think there is potential in the idea of Barbie longing for more muscular arms so may take this idea further.

Body Crossing

Body Crossing, Chaz Howkins, 2015, photograph

For this image I balanced a Barbie head on top of Ken's body, creating an interesting juxtaposition of Barbie's dainty features against Ken's muscular body.  Perhaps the body should have be topless to exaggerate this effect.

Before and After

Comparison, Chaz Howkins, 2015, photo collage

The image contrasts before and after shots of the transgender doll to expose how dramatically the doll has changed.

Transgender Barbie

Transdoll, Chaz Howkins, 2015, photograph

Transgender Barbie

Binding Barbie, Chaz Howkins, photograph, 2015

I decided that I wanted to change the focus of my work from 'corruption of childhood innocence' to gender identity.  While using Barbies as my subject matter for the majority of last year's work, I never got around to creating the gender queer Barbie I planned to.  I thought creating a transgender Barbie would be a good way to link the two themes together and give me a starting point for exploring gender identity.