IMG MGMT: Before/After, 2009-present

by A.L. Steiner + Z Drucker on May 16, 2011 IMG MGMT



[Editor’s Note: IMG MGMT is a semi-annual image-based artist essay series. Today’s invited artists, A.L. Steiner and Z. Drucker, live in New York and Los Angeles respectively. Their full bios can be read at the end of this post.]

T /  F When I wear womens’ clothing I do not consider it “cross dressing” because my true gender is feminine (or mostly feminine).
T /  F I have an alternative “fantasy cross dressing wardrobe” which is too sexy to wear in public.
T /  F I have adopted a feminine name which is now my legal name.
T /  F If I am wearing a sexy dress I sometimes feel more attracted to men.

 

 

T /  F I believe I am a “woman in a man’s body.”
T /  F Sometimes I have acquired more sets of fancy underwear or other sexy clothing than I need.
T /  F I have a driver’s license or other valid identification showing my female picture and name.
T /  F I eat in restaurants in my feminine role several times a year.

 

 

T /  F In my feminine role, I usually feel like I am a woman.
T /  F Sometimes I get a sexual thrill when I see my feminine image in a mirror.
T /  F While in the feminine role, men I did not know have bought me refreshments or drinks.
T /  F I have lived entirely (or almost entirely) as a woman for more than six consecutive months.
T /  F I prefer to think of my feminine name as my real name.

 

 

T /  F While in the feminine role, I have been escorted to a restaurant by a man as his date.
T /  F When I feel tense, wearing something feminine will usually make me feel a little more calm.
T /  F I have lived entirely (or almost entirely) as a woman for one year or longer.
T /  F I can experience feelings of being female at any time no matter how I am dressed.
T /  F Buying and using beautiful makeup will often make me feel sexually excited.
T /  F I have received 10 or more hours of electrolysis.
T /  F I have received 50 or more hours of electrolysis.
T /  F While in the feminine role, I have been escorted to some kind of entertainment event by a man on a date.
T /  F Even when not in the feminine role I reveal some feminine mannerisms (or I used to).
T /  F Putting on lipstick or perfume makes me feel erotic or sexy.

 

 

T /  F I can enjoy being a woman, but at other times I enjoy functioning like a man.
T /  F I often prefer sexy hosiery and high heels to the more ordinary style many women wear.
T /  F Being in the feminine role is almost always a sexually arousing experience for me.
T /  F While in the feminine role, I have danced with a man.

 

 

T /  F Wearing beautiful lingerie usually gives me some sexual excitement.
T /  F When in my feminine role I feel I am expressing my “true self,” not putting on an act.
T /  F I have talked to a physician about obtaining female hormones (whether you did obtain them or not).
T /  F While in the feminine role, I have been passionately kissed on the lips by a man.

 

 

T /  F If it were possible, I’d choose to live my life as a woman (or I now do so).
T /  F Some specific articles of clothing usually have an especially powerful effect on my sexual arousal.
T /  F I have taken female hormones regularly for three months or longer.

 

 

T /  F While in the feminine role, I have had a physical encounter with a man that went beyond kissing.
T /  F If I must put aside my feminine role for even a short time, it is very hard for me to do so.
T /  F Wearing beautiful clothes and makeup often brings me greater sexual pleasure than other sexual activities.

 

 

T /  F Often I become sexually excited just thinking about being a woman.
T /  F I have taken female hormones regularly for six months or longer.
T /  F As a man, I am exclusively attracted to women.

 

 

T /  F I almost always wear one or more items of feminine apparel under my male clothes.
T /  F I often become sexually excited when I shop for womens’ clothing, shoes, or makeup.
T /  F I have taken female hormones regularly for one year or longer.
T /  F As a man, I am attracted to both women and men (not necessarily equally).

 

T /  F I daydream or think about being a woman at least once a day.
T /  F Often I become sexually excited when I read about men who become women.
T /  F I have discussed with a physician possible (or actual) cosmetic surgery to improve my feminine appearance.
T /  F In the feminine role, I am exclusively attracted to women.
T /  F I daydream or think about being a woman at least 10 times each day.

 

 

T /  F Being in the feminine role is a super-pleasure for me.
T /  F I have received a small amount (or more) of cosmetic surgery to improve my feminine appearance.
T /  F When in the feminine role, I am attracted to both men and women (not necessarily equally).

 

 

T /  F After several hours (or days) in the feminine role I’m usually ready to change back into men’s clothes.
T /  F Being in the feminine role often produces strong feelings of exhilaration.
T /  F On one (or more) occasions, while in the feminine role I have had a sexual encounter with a man.


[A.L. Steiner uses constructions of photography, video, installation, collage, collaboration, performance and curatorial work as seductive tropes channeled through the sensibility of a cynical queer eco-feminist androgyne. She is a collective member of Chicks on Speed, co-curator of Ridykeulous, co-founder/organizer of W.A.G.E. (Working Artists and the Greater Economy) and collaborates with numerous visual and performing artists. Her work is represented by Taxter & Spengemann.

Drucker holds a MFA from the California Institute of the Arts (2007), and a BFA from the School of Visual Arts (2005). Interested in obliterating language obstacles, pulverizing identity disorders and revealing dark subconscious layers of outsider agency, Drucker disarms audiences using live performance, film, video, and photography. Keeping normative culture on the periphery, Drucker uses her body to illicit desire, judgement, and voyeuristic shame from her viewer.]

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