Photographer Mariette Pathy Allen is familiar with third gender communities all over the world as she has worked on documenting them for more than 30 years.
For her photo series ‘TransCuba’, the New York-based photographer visited the third gender community in Havana, Cuba, exposing their lives to the world.
As Allen worked on her project, she was moved by the poor living conditions and discriminations faced by the people she talked to.
However, there seemed to be a spark of optimism radiating from Allen’s work—she featured the lives of her new friends, Amanda, Nomi, and Malu, and other people from the community in various casual settings, highlighting their resilience towards the life that they are experiencing.
Her photo book, filled with 80 photographs, essays, and interviews with her subjects from her photo series, is available for purchase here.
Take a look at Allen’s photos below.
[via LensCulture, images by Mariette Pathy Allen]