San Jose – Part photo session, part podcast with sprinkles of self-acceptance, fashion therapy, and LGBTQ pride: This is The Queer Soul by Jenni Chapman and it’s a photography experience like no other at all.
Whether it’s for birthday cards, school or engagement, photo shoots have become a regular for many of us as we reach milestones in life. But for LGBTQ people, the Queer Soul Experience offers more than just a space to smile and look good — it’s about deep, emotional acceptance.
Chapman described himself as “the queer photographer of your dreams” and, like many other gays, struggled with self-acceptance and self-love during their next journey. With no representation in society at the time, it was easy for them to wonder “Is the wonderful life I dream of for myself possible?” Now as a non-binary lesbian marrying a lesbian woman, Chapman has taken it upon herself to be the one to enthusiastically say “Yes!”
Mercury News sat down with Chapman—who prefers their pronouns—to talk about their new multimedia project, their struggles to appear and be themselves, and how photography can reveal parts of people who didn’t know they were there. . Here’s a look at Chapman and their weird spirit:
Q How is The Queer Soul Experience different from the average photoshoot?
What’s different is that my clients have more creative control and it’s all about the final exhibition being 100% their most authentic selves. There are a lot of different people who enjoy queer and I wanted to show that, so this project allows people to live out the highest fantasy of their most authentic selves. We have gay hair and makeup artists too. We can rent things out, plan groups and do whatever the client wants. This is unique to a lot of gay people in many spaces. Things that might sound authentic to us are told “Okay, but that’s going to make people uncomfortable, let’s temper it.” In this creative playground, which you created, you can be whoever you want to be.
Q So how does it work?
People either nominate themselves to me or their friends nominate them to do this experiment. These people get to explore, validate, and celebrate the parts of themselves that they worked so hard to reveal. So not only do the customers themselves and the candidates feel amazing, but the LGBTQ people who will see and interact with this content will see that there are countless ways to be gay. They are given figurative permission through the real-life stories of these people to step into everything that makes them special and know that there will be a community out there to encourage and support them.
Q And is there a podcast aspect to this?
yes! To me, a lot of the eccentric podcasts I listen to like queer Instagram or queer Tiktok, it’s very much about labels, relationships, and sex, which are very important. But for straight and cis people, it seems very strange to them. What is lacking in this mix is the humanization of gay people in a way that straight and cis people can relate to. Yes, of course I will introduce people as their pronouns and define them as X, Y, or Z, but the interviews are about them as human beings. This will help cis-straight people and straight people perceive things like, “Hey, this trans guy is just like me!”
o For many gay people, going out can be a dramatic, shocking, and profoundly life-changing experience. How was your next trip like?
A: When I was in college, I didn’t see anyone in college who was a non-binary gay lady…a person, so I didn’t even go out to college.
I was very aware from an early age that I was playing a game that other people really live in. I’d pick boys to crush, mirroring what my friends were doing, but inside I’m sick and terrified thinking “everyone’s doing that”. I’ve had a continuous extrusion process since I was 18, but as I saw more presentations in the community, I opened the lens to myself and asked “How can I be who I am on the inside from the outside?” It’s very easy to find representation if you want to now, but there are so many pockets in our society that it’s impossible to find, of course, those people from that demographic that desperately need to be seen and seen by everyone and celebrated.Question: Across the country, we see right-wing politicians and others abusing the kind of gay education you advocate. How do you feel about the state’s conversation about gay people now and those who feel that projects like yours are not appropriate, especially for children and youth?
It’s really crazy that what I’m doing is considered extreme. First of all, kids will recognize these things anyway. They have a lot of access to the internet and social media. If you’re trying to protect your kids from knowing gay people, they’ll know anyway. The question is, do we want a society in which we learn that you can be who you are and love everyone, or are you the kind of parent or legislator who actively tries to wean children away from experiences for fear of doing them harm? All we are saying is that sometimes people have two mothers, some people have two fathers, and some people have no mothers or fathers. What we teach people is to be kind, to share their stories and interests, to be good friends and to live authentically.
Jenny Chapman
age: 27
Title: Owner of Jenny Chapman Photography
residence: Campbell
education: Emerson College
family: Khatib Ali Schindler
Five facts about Jenny Chapman
- Queer and non-binary (she/they pronouns are used interchangeably).
- @aliandjenni on Instagram manages all about their relationship.
- Educates and advocates for people with autism (like Chapman, who is himself on the spectrum) to help people in the #actuallyautistic community get the facilities they need and design a life in which they can thrive.
- They traveled to Greece last summer, to check out their number one spot on the photography bucket list.
- He holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Musical Theater and performs in professional plays and musicals throughout the Gulf region.
Originally published at San Jose News Bulletin
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