Nazik Armenakian: Transgenders in Armenia

Today is the Transgender Day of Remembrance. This year, at least 238 trans people have been murdered - and this count does not include the numerous cases of suicide after transphobic violence. We need to remember them - "We can't bring back the trans people that have lost their lives but we can stop the body count increasing." (Ava Vidal)
Most murders were counted in Brazil, Mexico, and the United States. We must not forget, though, that transphobia is the daily fare in many other countries, too - it often starts with a smirk or a sarcastic remark, and ends in physical assaults, and many people are not even aware of what they are doing, when they casually use the word "tranny", or misgender a trans person. In other cases, people are fully aware - because hate is spreading, and as Russia is currently pointing out, gender and sexual minorities are an easy target.

Nazik Armenakian is a photojournalist, and in her long-term project about the LGBT community in post-Soviet Armenia, she sheds light on a few lives which are well-acquainted with transphobia and violence: the lives of transgender sex workers she met on Armenian streets. In an interview she describes how difficult it was to take these pictures, how afraid many people were: "Unlike biologically female sex workers, transgender sex workers are always in danger and are frequently assaulted." Armenia legally ruled out discrimination against homosexuals and transgender, but in everyday life, the threat remains. It needed a lot of time to build up trust until the women would let her into their apartments.
The result are sensitive, careful pictures, showing the fragility of the women. Some of them play with light and shadow, hiding parts of faces and bodys; often, the faces are averted from the camera. Armenakian rejects any blame of victimising, however: "For them, being photographed is a way of establishing themselves among society".
It is an innocent, curious approach that Armenakian takes there - the equation of visibility with establishment. It is only fair when you read her describing her confusion when she first met these sex workers, and found her notions of 'male' and 'female' were seriously challenged. She overcame her first shock, began talking to the women, learned their stories, shared their stories. It's a beginning, and sets a good example not only for her Armenian compatriots, but to everyone. To end with Ava Vidal: "You don't have to be personally responsible for anyone's death, being complicit by remaining silent is bad enough. Be better. Do better."