Collected Item: “Lost in (Trans)it #2”
Your Name
Rawley Chaves-Carden
Your Pronouns
they/them
Instagram handle, if any
rawley.e.c
Work Title
Lost in (Trans)it #2
Work Year (We are not accepting images older than 5 years)
2022
[Image Rights] Do you confirm that you hold the rights to this image?
Yes
[Eligibility] The Curve Photo Contest proudly centers and uplifts people who identify as lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer women and nonbinary people. Please share how you self-identify, using language that feels most accurate to you. Feel free to include all intersections of your identity. (Examples: lesbian, trans person of color, Latinx queer woman, radical faery, butch, etc.)
lesbian, trans, nonbinary, queer, agender
[Artist Statement] Tell us more about your photo by sharing a brief artist statement OR answering this prompt: "This is what being ______ means to me..." (Max. 100 words)
Society and gender essentialism & binarism seem to be inextricably linked. For many trans and nonbinary people, the body is something that must be altered in order to align with the brain. But some of us love the bodies into which we were born, and do not experience gender dysphoria at all. As a trans person who uses they/them pronouns, I feel deeply connected to my true self when I am alone or surrounded by loved ones who I know will not misgender me. The disconnect occurs when people make assumptions about my gender and pronouns based on my appearance. Whenever this happens, that strong bond I have with myself feels injured, and I dissociate. Every time someone calls me "miss," or "ma'am," or "she," I briefly exit my body.
[Visual Description] Describe your photo so we can provide alt-text. Example: "Two women holding hands and smiling as they walk in a pride parade, surrounded by rainbow flags."
Grayscale photo of two figures, both nude from the torso up, who sit upon a bed facing each other with arms reaching forward.
[Agreement] In the event that you win the 2026 Curve Photo Contest, do you consent to having your photograph printed for the sole purpose of displaying at The Curve Foundation's one-day event at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (San Francisco, CA) during Lesbian Visibility Week? The Curve Foundation will cover printing costs, but will not cover costs for mailing the print after the event ends.
Yes
[Agreement] Do you consent to The Curve Foundation storing, sharing, and using this image and its description as we deem appropriate, including disseminating on our social media, website, and Curve Archive and Curve Quarterly?
Yes
[Agreement] By checking 'I understand' below, I acknowledge that this contest upholds values of diversity, equity, and inclusion, and I confirm that my submission does not contain anti-LGBTQ+ or other discriminatory, hateful, or exclusionary content.
I understand