Jacob Ritts

1. Please provide a brief description of yourself

I'm a 23 year old artist/photographer.

2. Where did you grow up?

I moved around a lot, so there's not one place. I have lived in Virginia, Florida, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and New York over the course my my life. Usually I just tell people Im from New York

3. What does 'being queer' mean to you?

(Personal, you can provide an experience or just a comment here)

I feel like it means different things to different people. I don't know this is a super hard question. In our society there are these very conscripted ways in which we act in relationship to sex, sexual desire, gender and social norms so being queer is being anything that goes against those rigidly defined boundaries.

4. What are some obstacles faced by people who identify as queer?

Again this is a super difficult question. There are many obstacles that affect different peoples in different ways. For me it was slurs and getting beat up at school, and while thats important there are a hundred other obstacles that are vastly different and equally important. Trans visibility has become much higher in the past few years, but so has anti trans violence and that violence is underreportred.

http://thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2015/08/21/3693717/transgender-murders-emergency/

This article is pretty basic and not super in depth but it's a nice 101

5. How did you become involve with art?

I got bullied in high school so I spent most of my time in the photo darkroom

6. How does your gender help you define your art work and viceversa?

It doesn't? I mean I'm a queer artist, and I guess my gender helped define my queerness which in turn helps defines my artwork. But not all the time, and it's not a straight cause and effect

7. Are you hoping to make a living from your artwork or art form?

Yes please