By KAELYN ROSS 

Diane Arbus began her career as a fashion photographer and had a husband and two children. However, her dissatisfaction with her work of perfect individuals led to her quitting her job and divorcing. She began photographing those on the margins of society, suc as transgenders, crossdressers, dwarfs, nudists and so on. All of her photos were black and white because of the limited technology in her time, but I believe that she would have still chosen black and white to suppress aspects such as race because of her desire for equality in sex and race. Her photo, Transvestite on A Couch, showcases a "male" who identified as a female. This statement seems common now, but many people were oblivious to the transgender community and she argued for it alone.

Her style often includes a large part of a solid background with the subject centered in a pose. When I first saw this piece, I thought it was just a women casually lounging in her home until I read the title and noticed more. Her titles often claim a name for the subject, changing the viewers opinions. The person in the photo appears very put together with the hair do, makeup, jewelry, and clean house but has relaxed body language. She uses the contrast of the shadowless wall to the subject in addition to the harsh vertical and horizontal lines on the walls that complement the softly curved human body. This photo's context plays a vital role in understanding her artwork as one of the few advocators of this group.