BOYS DO CRY
Prins de Vos
.36Boys do cry breaks the taboo on male vulnerability and contributes to the emancipation of trans people.
For seven years, from 2014 until 2021, I have been photographing Levi, who is an artist, poet and trans man. I portrayed him at important moments in his life: for example right after he was forced out of his apartment, but also just a few days after his bottom surgery. The title of the series comes from the tattoo Levi has on his stomach. It's an important phrase, because: boys dó cry.
Being trans, you are often portrayed by media as vulnerable in a negative sense, but this series shows that daring to be vulnerable is actually extremely powerful. Therefore the series reclaims vulnerability in the queer community.
Prins de Vos (1991, Raamsdonk) is a Dutch photographer living in Amsterdam. In 2013, Prins graduated with a Bachelor Design from the Academy of Popculture (Leeuwarden). Their work touches on themes such as intimacy, sexuality and gender. Prins' first photo book Enclose (2013) was launched in photography museum Foam, and included a poetic introduction, written by Dutch author Arthur Japin. In 2022, Prins published their second photo book BOYS DO CRY, about Levi, who is an artist, poet and trans man.