MAUVAIS GENRE/UNDER COVER
A SECRET HISTORY OF CROSS-DRESSER

April 6 — August 6, 2022
Ryerson Image Centre in Toronto, Canada

The exhibition Mauvais Genre/Under Cover: A Secret History of Cross-Dresser, produced by The Rencontres d’Arles and exposed in the 2016 edition, will be presented at the Ryerson Image Centre in Toronto, Canada.

From the extensive personal archives of French filmmaker and photography collector Sébastien Lifshitz, this exhibition comprises over 160 amateur photographs which explore a range of practices relating to cross-dressing from the 1880s to the 1980s.

The selection includes images of spectacular cross-dressers and glamorous drag queens, but also individuals whose transgressive actions are much more discreet. Taken by mostly unknown photographers, the prints are of unnamed and unknown figures posing for the camera, using clothing and gestures traditionally assigned to the “opposite sex.” The photographs have been collected from flea markets, garage sales, junk shops and eBay and were taken in Europe and the United States. 

Mauvais Genre/Under Cover: A Secret History of Cross-Dressers celebrates the freedom that the simple act of dressing differently provides, celebrating self-expression and the diversity of the queer and trans spectrum. This exhibition will be on display from April 6 to August 6, 2022.
  • Institutional partners

    • République Française
    • Région Provence Alpes Côté d'Azur
    • Département des Bouches du Rhône
    • Arles
    • Le Centre des monuments nationaux est heureux de soutenir les Rencontres de la Photographie d’Arles en accueillant des expositions dans l’abbaye de Montmajour
  • Main partners

    • Fondation LUMA
    • BMW
    • SNCF
    • Kering
  • Media partners

    • Arte
    • Lci
    • Konbini
    • Le Point
    • Madame Figaro
    • France Culture