LGBTQ+ Photographer Ransom Ashley's Photos Depict Growing Up in the Bible Belt
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Growing up in the Bible belt, Ransom Ashley says his life wasn't always easy. Ransom identifies as LGBTQ+, meaning he was the "other" at his Southern Baptist school in Louisiana, and faced discrimination and bullying because of who he is. But now, Ransom looks back at his youth through the camera lens. A photographer, actor, and cinematographer attending the Parsons The New School for Design in New York City, Ransom told Teen Vogue he now uses his work to explore what identity means to him, particularly given the religious environment he grew up in. Ransom shared some of his images with Teen Vogue, explaining what photography means for him, and what his identity means for his photography.
Ransom Ashley1/14Where did the idea for this project come from?
My projects are very much inspired by what I feel at different times in my life with the majority of them being influenced by my personal exploration of my identity. I was very much an anomaly in my middle and high school while growing up so I was left to myself to sort of figure out who I was or who I could be.
Ransom Ashley2/14It was a very confusing time for me and in some ways I feel I am still figuring it out. My photography is very much the medium through which I explored and continue to explore my emotions and probe deeper into my sense of self.
Ransom Ashley3/14What overall message do these images send?
I would hope that my images act as a sort of conduit for people to feel something about their lives or discover some dormant and untapped thing within themselves. In my "Virgins" series, which was my first body of work, I poured a lot of the isolation I felt during my teenage years into it: the uncertainty, the finding of myself, the angst and sometimes contemplation with my own mortality; even using my photos as a means to express suicidal feelings I had at different times in my life.
Ransom Ashley4/14My later work has most definitely been an evolution of that with my focus on identity evolving into an exploration of themes relating to anonymity, self-detruction, hopelessness, marginalization, and the things that I know are part of the experience of many people in the LGBTQ+ community.
Ransom Ashley5/14What was it like growing up in the Bible belt and identifying as LGBTQ?+
It was very difficult, even before I even knew what it meant or identified as LGBTQ+. I missed months and months of school in middle school because of heavy bullying that continued into my high school years. I was never comfortable in my own skin because I was the "gay kid" in a Southern Baptist School.
Ransom Ashley6/14I dreaded gym class and anything that put me around other guys because I never felt like I measured up in the very hyper-masculine environment that was characteristic of my school and community. On top of that, I had to attend church at the same place on Sundays with the same kids that bullied me during the week.
Ransom Ashley7/14Have you faced any discrimination because of your identity?
I have definitely been treated very poorly because of my identity but now that I am older, I have found a wonderful community of artists and open-minded people within the communities I've inhabited so it doesn't happen so often.
Ransom Ashley8/14Have you gotten support from places you may not have expected it?
I have. If you had told me when I was growing up that I would be part of a family where I could express myself and feel like I'm a part, I wouldn't have believed you. My cousin really paved the way for me though. He married his partner this past May, so he kind of broke the ice for me.
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Ransom Ashley9/14I also found support from many people in Shreveport, which was surprising to me. Even though it's in the South, there is a community of very foward-thinking, artistic people that validate you on account of your personhood and in those circles you can be whoever you want.
Ransom Ashley10/14Does your identity influence your photography?
Absolutely! My identity has perhaps the biggest influence on my photography because it is the core of so many of the emotions that I feel and inject into my photographs.
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Ransom Ashley11/14The stories I tell through my images are all a product and a vessel for me to communicate my experiences and my exploration of who I am.
Ransom Ashley12/14What would you like people to know about being LGBTQ+ and living in the Bible Belt?
I would like people who identify as LGBTQ+ in the south to know that they are not alone. When I was growing up, I didn't have others that I could talk to or that had experiences that similar to mine.
Ransom Ashley13/14I struggled with my sexuality and my faith and it was a very lonely time in my life. However, there are, in the darkest and most hopeless of times, people that will accept and care about you.
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Ransom Ashley14/14Your struggles can become your greatest assets on your journey and equip you with the tools that you need to become the person you want to be and create the life you want to live. I would really just want them to know that they are loved and that it gets better.
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