For the past 12 years, Sarah Wong has been documenting the lives and experiences of a group of children from as young as five years of age, right up to 17, who have experienced gender dysphoria.
The Dutch photographer followed the stories of the children – who had either transitioned or were in the process of transitioning – as they engaged with a special therapy at Amsterdam’s VU University.
As part of the therapy, some of these children took puberty blockers in order to delay the effects of puberty until they reached a point where they were comfortable enough to decide how they wanted to live their lives.
In order to capture the most authentic and insightful photos, Wong photographed the children in places where they felt most comfortable, for example at school or in a ballet studio.
This week, Wong has opened up on the experience in an interview with The Huffington Post, revealing exactly what motivated her to take these powerful images.
She said: “My goal was to help them find happiness. With their portraits I wanted to empower them – no sensational journalistic approach. Not a boy in a dress or a girl with a football. When people saw the portraits they said, ‘lovely children, but who are they?’”
“The photographs showed lovely children, with a strong consciousness: this is who I truly am. At the end we’re all the same – souls who want to be happy and live compassionately,” she added.
