Digital Transgender Archive

A Glimpse of Kentucky History

Photography offers a different lens with which to view the trans community. These photographs may not seem to contain as much information as textual materials, but they provide viewers with a human-driven look at trans people. The array of identities presented in the collection cross the lines of gender and race and provide us with a glimpse into the different ways in which gender identity is expressed.

One of the photographs in this collection that we found to be particularly interesting was “Henry Faulkner in Drag,” taken in the early 1940s. Henry Faulkner is the presumed namesake of the Faulkner-Morgan Pagan Babies Archive, so we thought that this was a notable picture. It is a striking shot––there's a glint in Faulkner's eye, and a casual and playful smile, which suggests that there is tremendous joy in this moment.