Tribes

TRIBES

By Roseanna Gyles

BLONDE I’m happy to be part of the blonde tribe, not a lot of people have naturally blonde hair.

It is strange how such a stigma around intelligence has come to be associated with blonde haired people though.

Technology of Cameras module of the Photographic Journalism course at Leeds Beckett University

TRIBES

BY ROSEANNA GYLES

ANIMALS AND THEIR HUMANS It is difficult at times being part of this tribe, us dominated by our animals needs. Vet expenses for instance are akin to paying for private hospitals, some thing I would never dream of for myself.

Giving rescued hounds a lovely life is just the greatest compensation though.

RELIGION Having faith is everything to me, it gives me hope on my darkest days and I feel blessed to have been born into an enlightened and loving family. Knowing that someone is up there watching over me means I never need to feel alone.

FASHIONISTA Something not many people know about me is that I love fashion and dressing with style, so I’m happy to be categorised as a fashionista. Although I’d prefer it if the category was simply named ‘good style’, fashionista conjures up images of tarty celebrities with high heels for me, I guess that’s just one connotation though.

VICTIM I was a victim of domestic abuse, it demeaned me, now I smoke and drink a lot. People don’t realise that domestic abuse isn’t just about women, it makes me embarrassed to talk about what happened.

SPORT I like to keep healthy because it feels good and It’s important, I go to the gym about four times a week and I ride my bike everywhere, it’s a trials bike and I use it for that too which is really physically demanding stuff. It feels great to be part of the ‘sport’ tribe, I’ve met tons of friends through doing different sports too.

PUBLIC SERVANT Listen! Listen! Listen! Listen! You are not allowed to take photographs of people without their permission…. It doesn’t matter that I am police, I told you, you are not allowed to take photos of me!

COSMETIC AUGMENTATION/ENHANCEMENT I never really think of myself as fitting into a category but I guess this is actually one I thoroughly fit, with all my tattoos, piercings, the stretchers in my ears and the operation I’ve just had to remove my breasts as part of my gender reassignment surgeries. I feel accepted.

ETHNICITY I was raised as a Pagan, my mother was a Romany gypsy and my father was a Buddhist; this has brought me very close to nature. Although I don’t really practice any Pagan traditions anymore I think being raised in this way has made me who I am today, which I am thankful for, my ethnicity is important to me.

CREATIVE ARTIST It’s awesome being part of the creative artist group, my passion is graphic design; I’m in my second year studying this at university. I think creative people are the best type of people and I’m glad to have so many people like this around me.

MUSIC I’m a creator; I make music, its great to be part of a crowd that’s bringing so much emotion to the planet.

EDUCATION I really love to teach, I have been a teacher now for about 15 years but I’ve never been asked to be a model!

It feels really great, I am passionate about education, particularly languages because they allow people to communicate with whole other nations of people

PERFORMER I’ve always been a performer, I’m generally quite shy when I’m talking to new people but I can stand in front of crowds of strangers and express myself with my body. Performing to me is all about expression