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FEMME THE MAN Cory Wade by Thomas Evans

 

 

 

 

artPLAY ART PHOTOGRAPHY…LET’S START PLAYING….

 

 

“FEMME THE MAN” Cory Wade by Thomas Evans
Creative Director/Photographer :  Thomas Evans @thomasevansphotography
Model:  Cory Wade @coryw4de
Makeup:  Samson Smith @samson_smith
Video:  Mikhail Torich @mikhailtorich

 

 

Thomas Evans- is a creative director and photographer based in New York, who has spent most of his career exploring the gender spectrum. He has worked with many top LGBTQ influencers and celebrities to get the message across that freedom of self-expression is of the utmost importance.

artPLAY is very happy to showcase his new work with an artist, model singer and LGBTQ activist Cory Wade, who represents well this concept of gender as a spectrum and also is part of Thomas Evans “Femme the Man” project. Cory spoke to artplay about fashion and gender, about gender roles as well as ideas behind this shoot with Thomas.

 

“Gender is a spectrum, societies prescribed labels do not make sense anymore.  Human being’s are designed to express both masculine and feminine energy.  Its time Femininity is celebrated and not demonized. As an artist I promote acceptance, tolerance and equality through my photography” Thomas Evans. 

 

 

 

 

 

Cory Wade speaks exclusively to artPLAY:

All human beings are fashion buyers out of necessity. The fashion industry must always recognize and represent this truth. A great way for this to be maintained would be for brands to once and for all shed any “category” labels that would deter a person from feeling safe to try a particular style because of what society has long deemed to be appropriate according to our physical differences.

I don’t believe in style limitations that pertain to gender, anatomy, body type, age, class or any other human attribute. 

 

Gender roles for one are a fallacy. For so long, so much of our shared culture was built up on the societal expectations (or “sexpectations” as I like to say) that allegedly coincide with our anatomy. The very words, “boy” and “girl” were infused with an oppressive power that would narrate how a person is supposed to walk, talk and dress in order to be considered as a normal human being. Now that we have finally recognized that these words were being endowed with a power that human beings actually dreamt-up of our own volition, it is time for us to take that power back.

The images that I created with Thomas Evans support this sentiment. We started with styling that nods to an era where those very gender roles were all too prevalent. We then deconstructed and warped it by adding elements that were a tad darker and more twisted. To me it was meant to explore the internal chaos and turmoil conjured by gender roles for all of those who never fit them .

 

I will always lend my voice in full support of free and authentic self expression. We get a short time to inhabit this earth and we ought to be able to have our go at this life game as true as can be. Work that supports this message is personal for me. I have struggled as many queer people have and still do with truly being able to accept and love everything that I am. I am most well known for appearing on America’s Next Top Model where I was definitely challenged mentally and emotionally to fully embrace my queerness through receiving an immense amount of pressure to subdue and hide it. Today, I am a public speaker traveling around the midwest to different colleges and universities to share my experience and speak about equality, inclusion, effective ally ship and human understanding. I also work as a sex-educator for a non for profit that talks to kids in 5th and 6th grade about gender and sexuality. I model and I make music as well! I do a lot of stuff! My future plans are to continue to help when and where I can to keep the conversation going and growing. I am also working on some new music that I cannot wait to share. Interested folks can check out my album, UNIFY on Spotify. That’s about it. Spread love.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

backstage video from “Femme the Man” photoshoot with Cory Wade

 

 

 

 

www.ThomasEvansPhotography.com
 www.instagram.com/thomasevansphotography 
www.corywadeofficial.com
https://www.instagram.com/CoryW4de/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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