Photographer Lia Clay On Tokenization Behind The Camera

Still, freelancing wasn't easy. The industry had few visible trans photographers at the time. "I really had to push through doors to be heard," Clay says. Today, at 27 years old, Clay has had her work featured in numerous publications, including the New York Times and Vogue, and she continues to keep her audience captivated through mesmerizing portraiture. Ahead of Transgender Day of Visibility, Broadly spoke to Clay about her inspirations, the trap of tokenization, and the advice she has for young photographers.

BROADLY: Why is it so important to you to focus the queer community in your work?
LIA CLAY: More than focusing on the queer community, I think it's important for a queer trans woman to be working in this industry because it is about the gaze, and how we look at the world. We need to see it from something other than cis white men. Even if they're queer.

The most cliché question: Who are your creative inspirations and why?
Lynn Davis, Mary Ellen Mark, Lorna Simpson, Carrie Mae Weems—they're all photographers who had to push past being recognized as just women, and demand that they were just as talented as the purveying male gaze. Of course, [Annie] Leibovitz, maybe a little too obviously, but I'm okay with that. I love her earlier portraits.

What was the most meaningful shoot you were ever a part of?
I got to work on a story that let me travel up and down the East Coast and to Kansas City to document queer and trans folx talking about the importance of safe spaces, and how those spaces were still hard to access. It was originally supposed to be a story that kind of had this 'queer paradise' manifesto, but as the stories unfolded, it really gave authenticity to it. A lot of times trans stories rely on our trauma, or they want to paint a picture that is digestible to cis-normative expectations of it. They lack authenticity. This story didn't. The editors were really about listening to us, and I think (I hope) it gave a broader understanding of how to approach our stories.

What is the significance of being a trans person behind the camera when you're photographing other trans people?
It's the thing I struggle with when I'm getting pitched predominantly stories about trans lives. I don't always want to do these stories because I feel tokenized to do these stories, but I also have to think about the fact that if I don't, who will? A lot of times it's photographed by cis individuals, instead. And they get it wrong. All of the time. In the hands of a cis photographer, the lens is used to heighten the gender comparison between transgender and cisgender. It's voyeurism, not authenticity. It's fucked up, honestly.

As a successful photographer, what advice would you give to a young trans person hoping to become a photographer one day?
Honey, I hope my existence, and my work has given you a bigger space to grow. I really do. If I've done anything, I just want what I've done to open a door for someone else. I don't know if I'd consider myself "successful" yet, or I don't know if I've met my understanding of successful. When I'm not having to rely on being tokenized to survive from month to month… when I can be doing the same projects as my cis counterparts are, maybe then. It's still important to me to be the first trans woman who shoots a Vogue cover … or something like that, ya know? I want to be represented by an agency. I want to do it all … just so I have the means to eventually quit and move to the middle of nowhere with my partner, have some kids, and make portraits about that. I'm partially joking, but one of my favorite photographs is still Sally Mann's portrait of her peeing on top of a mountain with her kids. I wanna be that free to do work as a trans woman.

What is the most rewarding part of your work? I really love the ability to give opportunities to other queer individuals. A lot of the projects I work on, there's a big emphasis on having a team that is made up of predominantly queer and trans people. I don't want the focus to always be targeted at us. Instead, I think it's much more important to give us the jobs that other cis individuals are getting. I want to be a successful commercial photographer—not because of my trans perspective, but because trans individuals deserve to be here, too.

The most difficult? The focus is always about my identity as a trans woman. I'm tired of always being a trans woman before I'm a photographer. Yes, it is important to recognize me being in this space. No, it does not have to be about that all of the time. Let's move on, please.