How did you meet Jake?

–Jake’s name was given to me in 1996 when I was looking for people to photograph for my masculinity project. I was seeking to make images outside the stereotypes. In making photographs and having dialogues with men and women about their perceptions of masculinity and femininity, I began to see a lot of contradictions and complexity in gender constructions.

Why were the photographs taken?

-In 1996 when Jake and I began the collaboration, the ultimate goal was to make the information available to others contemplating the surgical procedure, because at that time there was very little information available about female-to-male transitions. Through our continued dialogue, we have realized that our process has value to a wider audience as a template to discuss issues of discrimination related to race, identity, gender, and class.

How long did you photograph Jake?

-We worked together over four years to document his journey. Most of the photographs were made during the first year.

Is Jake legally a male?

-Yes, in the state of Texas you can go to court and petition for a gender and name change. However in many states, including New York, you cannot get a legal gender change.

Why the name Jake? 

-Jake was his nickname when he was a young person.

If the world could have related to Jake as a male without his having to change his sex, would he have still gone through the process?

-I don’t know if that would have satisfied his need to feel normal.

Where was the line (Was there a line?) between wanting to function in the world as a man and wanting to be a man physically?

-If I interpret Jake’s words correctly, there was no line. But you might have a different interpretation when you read the book.

What is Jake doing now and is he happy?

-Jake married a genetic woman, went back into the military as a male (he had been in the reserves as a female), fulfilled his military obligations and is now working as a civilian. He is very happy with his life.

How are his relationship with his parents and the lesbian community he had once been part of?

-At first his relationship with his father was strained but unlike many of Jake’s friends who transitioned from female to male, he now has a close relationship with his father. He moved to another town for a few years so I don’t know what his relationship might be with the lesbian community he had once been part of.

Does Jake have children?

-No

How does Jake’s penis work? Can he pee through it?

-He couldn’t pee through it the last time we talked, but that might have changed by now.

How does his penis become erect?

-I never asked.

What kind of sexual arousal does Jake feel?

-I never discussed that with him. But the body can be sexually aroused in many ways. It’s a broad subject. Why not google it?

Is sex satisfying without the possibility of an organism?

-You bet! Many of my women friends have told me that they have never had an orgasm, but they still have sex.

There is some confusion about the parallel story of Ellen and William and how it shed light on or complimented Jake’s story. It was clear how Ellen Craft passed, but not how her passing related to Jake’s more problematic passing. How did you ever think of putting the two stories together?

-When I met Jake, it was hard for me to understand why someone would want a change of identity of the magnitude that a gender change entails. Drawing on my own social history as a black person, I knew about racial passing. It was what I could relate to, so it was more about me than it was about Jake. During the first year that I knew him I didn’t think he would be able to relate to the concept of “passing” at all. As I reflected, over ten years, on my experience with the intensity of Jake’s transition process, I began to put parts of the Craft’s journey from slavery to freedom in the page layouts. It seemed to add a complexity to the narrative that was missing so I left it in.

Was Jake trying to pass as a stereotyped man, or was he in fact a stereotyped white man trapped in the wrong body?

-Based on the interviews that I had with him, I think he would say he was a stereotypical white man trapped in a woman’s body.

How may the whole experience have changed you in general?

-The collaboration with Jake broadened my understanding of the complexity of gender discrimination. To me the work is not as much about a gender transition as it is about accepting difference.

Why can’t I buy your book on Amazon?

-Wrongly Bodied is a limited edition artist’s book that has been published to reach a wider audience. As a creative project, it doesn’t fit the model of most Amazon books.