The myth of gender binaries - New exhibit uses classical mythology to explore testosterone
Written by Julie David | Visual by Tamim Sujat | The McGill Daily CULTURE | SEPTEMBER 2ND, 2014
Complex structures that alter both physical and behavioural characteristics, hormones rarely possess a social identity. Out of this whirling chemical mass, however, testosterone has developed a certain notoriety, due to its socially constructed link to masculinity and gender. In Galerie Donald Browne's current exhibit, "Testostérone: Mythologies Identitaires," seven artists of various gender identities broadly tackle this significance and ambiguity that society consistently attaches to the hormone.
The most stereotypical portrayal of testosterone associates the hormone exclusively with an alpha-male personage. Upon entering Galerie Donald Browne, the first eye-catching piece is one that explicitly addresses this traditional definition of testosterone. The piece is a redux of an intense, untitled chromogenic photograph from the 1990s, found in London and modified by artist Shari Hatt. Though it's located at the far end of the gallery, the photo manages to attract the viewer's gaze with its immense size, detail in colouring, and because it is the most 'typical' portrayal of male testosterone in the exhibit.
http://www.mcgilldaily.com/2014/09/the-myth-of-gender-binaries/
