#Repost @worldpressphoto with @get_repost ・・・ A performer sings at a LGBTQ＋ club in Jackson Heights, Queens, New York State, United States. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ From ‘The Dressing Room’, a chapter of ‘The LGBTQ＋ Latino Project’ by Joana Toro (@joanaphoto). ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ “In local LGBTQ＋ clubs in Queens, the participants and audiences face many problems: perhaps with money, lovers, drugs, or work; and some have visas, while others are without documents. But in these places largely hidden from the outside world, everyone is considered the same, with an equal right to enjoy being who they are. They leave their hardships at the door, and transform themselves into something luminous, even sacred.” - Joana Toro (@joanaphoto). ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Same-sex marriage is a right in the United States, but LGBTQ＋ communities still suffer from discrimination. Latin American immigrants face several challenges at once, including racism, poverty, and homophobia. Being undocumented or unemployed, or sometimes both, plus social discrimination, police harassment, high levels of poverty, and the risks of sex work can become sources of worry and fear. Many Latin American LGBTQ＋ people go to New York to run from the intolerance and violence against LGBTQ＋ communities in countries in South and Central America, where life expectancy for transgender women is 35 years old. Some countries in Latin America have begun the process for same-sex marriage to be accepted, but the new bills are mostly rejected. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Joana Toro is a self-taught Colombian photographer based between New York and Bogota. Toro explores issues around migration, human rights and identity in Latin American communities. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ -- ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ We’re happy to be sharing work featured in ‘Foto Féminas’ Presents’ this week! Foto Féminas (@fotofeminas) is a platform established by Verónica Sanchis Bencomo (@veronicasanchis) that promotes the work of female photographers working in Latin America and the Caribbean. ‘Foto Féminas Presents’ is a bimonthly series published on World Press Photo’s online magazine, Witness, that highlights the different voices and approaches of the @fotofeminas photographers. See the series and more work by the featured photographers, by f https://www.instagram.com/p/B8Xu31lg3jw/?igshid=138rfgt1zi4e7
