For many years, since seeing a photograph by Tony Ray-Jones, in a pamphlet for what is now called the National Science and Media Museum, in Bradford, UK, I have been intrigued. I will not hot-link to it for copyright reasons but it can be seen here:
Eastbourne Carnival, 1967. The photo shows a child who has won a prize cup in a fancy dress competition and looks none too pleased about it. If the child is a cis girl, she is not in fancy dress and would not win a cup, so the child must be AMAB. Besides, there is something about the hair that doesn't look natural to me. What especially intrigues me is the fashion doll that the child is holding. Why has it been made to look like a marionette?
I don't think that we need to worry about traumatizing the child by speculations as it is already a famous photo, taken more than half a century ago. Besides, as I shall point out, VERY imaginative extrapolations have already been made in a famous movie.
This is my scenario:
I doubt that the child is trans, as I think that a trans girl would be happier to win a prize for looking feminine. I think that the child is a boy and that wearing a dress for the competition was his mother's idea. If he had a sister, it would be cheaper and easier than renting or making a costume. What motivated him to go along with it I do not know but mothers can be persuasive and perhaps the contestants got free refreshments. As for the doll, he drew the line at carrying that, so his mother made it look like a marionette. Quite a boring scenario, I suppose.
Scriptwriters came up with a much more lurid story. The horror movie Cassadaga MUST be inspired by the photo. In it, a trans girl in a dress is shown cutting up fashion dolls to make marionettes. In spite of favouring one of the quick and cheap SRS options, the child grows up to present as male but continues the marionette hobby in grisly fashion.
What scenario or story does the photo inspire you to create?
