LinkFor more than two decades, non-trans photographer Mariette Pathy Allen has chronicled the lives of transgender individuals and the emergence of a transgender rights movement. Influenced by Margaret Mead's study of culturally diverse gender roles, Allen shared a hotel with a group of crossdressers in 1978, was immediately captivated by their struggles with gender stereotyping and spent the next 10 years capturing some of their most intimate moments on film.
Her Transformations: Crossdressers and Those Who Love Them ( 1989 ) offered a unique view into the lives of mostly heterosexual, married men who cross-dress and humanized a largely misunderstood and secretive community.
