This afternoon I drove up to the Gay Community Center in Richmond to take my photo for the NOH8 campaign! I’ve been looking forward to this for months. I’ve wanted to be part of this movement since the first time I saw one of Adam Bouska’s awesome photos, but I was never able to make any of the open photo shoots held in my area until today. In case you’ve been living in a cave and aren’t familiar with this movement, here’s a little background:
On November 4, 2008 Proposition 8 passed in California, amending the state Constitution to ban same-sex marriage. The defeat provoked a groundswell of initiative within the GLBT community at a grassroots level, with many new political and protest organizations being formed in response.
The NOH8 Campaign is a photographic silent protest created by celebrity photographer Adam Bouska and partner Jeff Parshley in direct response to the passage of Proposition 8. Photos feature subjects with duct tape over their mouths, symbolizing their voices being silenced by Prop 8 and similar legislation around the world, with “NOH8” painted on one cheek in protest.
When I got there I was number 168, but the line moved super fast. To keep us entertained while we waited for our numbers to be called, there were several drag queens who performed, and there were also some impromptu dance numbers by random audience members. Too much fun.
It takes them between 4 and 8 weeks to send you your final, retouched photo. Can’t wait to get mine! The session went so fast I didn’t even have the chance to get my smize together, but I’ve seen enough of his photos to know I was in good hands! Hooray for this!