“Justin Bond”Portrait by Catherine Opie.

Photographed in 1993.

Most known for her photographs depicting gays, lesbians, and cross dressers, Opie has had many views towards society.

In her portrait “Justin Bond”, Opie wanted to express the Theme of “The Female body in Society”.

Catherine Opie and her Social Commentary

Opie's Social Views on society

Opie's views on gender roles, especially women, are expressed mainly through her portrait series like in “Justin Bond”

Her views are that the beauty of a certain gender is not shaped by society, but the viewer, who can interpret it as freely as they want.

No gender, especially males, have to be the dominant figure in a relationship.Opie tries to make the viewer contradict her art and to to be open minded. Like in this portrait, a male posing as a female, but naming the portrait “Justin Bond”.

She tries to challenge the norm of typical human behavior and influence them to think a certain way in her artwork.

Opie's Message in “Justin Bond”

In this portrait, Opie captured the elegance and firmness of a cross dresser.

The feeling of demand comes from the picture. This is obvious due to the fact that the person is well-groomed, not a strand of hair is out of place, and is bolted upright with near symmetry.

Opie does this well by playing against the idea that a male dressed as a woman is not seen as normal, but the well-groomed and well presented female is.

How does my theme relate to others in my group?

The overall theme of my group is summarized as “The Feminine Body and Gaze”, my theme of “The Female Body in Society” fits well into this group because of the apparent mixed messages that “Justin Bond” gives out such as “The beauty is in the eye's of the beholder” and “The contradiction of the title and person being photographed”