Ode to my family
By Inza & Noé
Photos by Noé
All photos were taken on September 25th, 2022, at an emergency shelter in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.
The making of a family
The family experience isn’t always a walk in the park. There are arguments, disagreements, jealousy, fights, tears, but also love and laughter. Our family is like any other, with as many individualities as there are people in it. Our family is not bound by blood but by a common choice: to have the courage to be true to who we are, transgender women and a queer man, in a country that does not acknowledge us. It’s in society’s rejection and in precariousness that we found each other, and today, we form a family, away from our biological families.
Hair salon chit-chats
In a world without discrimination, we would be stylists, pastry chefs and traders. We wouldn’t have to hide in this masculine prison and would express our femininity to the fullest. While we wait for happier times, far from the violence of everyday life, it has become our tradition to gather in our hair salon for our beauty makeovers.
Ode to my daughter
My dear daughter, when I look at you, I see a very beautiful woman whom I would have loved to look like; a woman whose silhouette, feminine features and beauty I envy. When you get your make-up done, I imagine you in fashion magazines or on the runways of renowned fashion designers. But in your eyes, I see sadness, violence, pain, loss of confidence, fear, doubt. The world is so cruel to us, but your courage and strength make me infinitely proud.
Mama Téné and her children
I smile because I have you here with me. I am your mother, the one who supports you, the one you can count on, the one who does not judge you. You are my family, the one I chose. With you, I feel loved and supported. With you, I can truly be myself, and feel valued. We have been rejected, humiliated, and abused. We have been accused of copying “white people’s stuff”, but today, together, we assert our Africanness as much as our identity. We are proud of our individualities as much as our ties to this beautiful family.
Stolen smiles
Our life is not easy but we exist and will continue to exist. We will assert ourselves and will fight for society to acknowledge our diversity and the fact that we are just like everyone else. We are a sisterhood, bound by trust and camaraderie, in good and bad times. And, together, we will keep smiling through all of life’s trials.
