In South Carolina, where public perception is often shaped by conservatism and a lingering Confederate legacy, transgender lives are often flattened into assumptions — or erased entirely.
Photographer Anthony Gansauer set out to document something more honest.
Shot on 6x7 film and printed by hand, the artistic series Exploring Transgender Identity in South Carolina captures a community that exists both within and beyond those narratives. Through portraits and personal conversations, Gansauer offers a contemporary record of transgender South Carolinians — how they live, where they find themselves, and what it means to call the South home.
What emerges isn’t a single story, but a mosaic: of intimacy, contradiction, resilience, and everyday life.
Artist statement
Exploring Transgender Identity in South Carolina is a candid photographic and interview-based documentation of transgender life in South Carolina. While the state is often defined in the public zeitgeist by its history of racism, conservatism, and a lingering Confederate legacy, this project offers a contemporary visual record of a community that exists largely outside of that narrative yet within its realities.
Each subject represents a distinct journey. Their identities, philosophies, and relationships to place differ widely, reflecting the diversity and complexity within the transgender community itself.
Rather than presenting a single narrative, the project reveals a mosaic of experiences that challenge assumptions about queer life in the Deep South. [It] aims to function both as a contemporary record and as a cultural time capsule, documenting a generation of transgender Southerners negotiating identity, belonging, and visibility in a region often misunderstood by those outside it.
See Gansauer's portraits ahead.
Vali (she/her) and Mad (he/him)
Vali (she/her) & Mad (he/him), South Carolina.
Anthony Gansauer“The gender fluid imagery of Hinduism has a positive role in my transition.” - Vali
Vali (she/her) & Mad (he/him), South Carolina.
Anthony Gansauer“I did not know it was an option for me, I thought I would just be stuck in this body.” - Vali
Quartz (she/her)
Quartz (she/her), South Carolina.
Anthony Gansauer
Quartz (she/her), South Carolina.
Anthony Gansauer
Bailey (she/her)
Bailey (she/her), South Carolina.
Anthony Gansauer
“People are either really mean or really nice to us, because they hate you or know everyone else hates you, in a pity way.” - Bailey
Bailey (she/her), South Carolina.
Anthony Gansauer
Austen (she/her), South Carolina.
Anthony Gansauer
Austen (she/her)
Austen (she/her), South Carolina.
Anthony Gansauer
Kaleb (he/him)
Kaleb (he/him), South Carolina.
Anthony Gansauer
"There is a misconception that trans people hate America, I love my home, I love South Carolina." - Kaleb
Kaleb (he/him), South Carolina.
Anthony Gansauer
Shamari (she/her)
Shamari (she/her), South Carolina
Anthony Gansauer
Eli (he/him)
Eli (he/him), South Carolina.
Anthony Gansauer
Anthony Gansauer is a documentary and editorial photographer based in South Carolina. By day, he works as a gas plumber. Born in 2001 and raised in the state by his father, much of his work is rooted in the southern culture, contradictions, and overlooked communities of the region he calls home. Explore more of his work at anthonygansauer.com and follow him on Instagram.
Opinion is dedicated to featuring a wide range of inspiring personal stories and impactful opinions from the LGBTQ+ community and its allies. Visit Out.com/submit to learn more about submission guidelines. We welcome your thoughts and feedback on any of our stories. Email us at voices@equalpride.com. Views expressed in Opinion stories are those of the guest writers, columnists, and editors, and do not directly represent the views of Out or our parent company, equalpride.
