THE Meat Market
New York City’s Real Meat Packing Neighborhood
“The Meat Market” series documents the trans prostitutes of New York City’s Meat Market District in the late 1980’s, a time when an intense energy and sexuality could be found in the theatre of these city streets. Rispoli was drawn to the unabashed performance and public display of eroticism that is an inherent and necessary part of how these women make a living.
The women posed willingly for the camera. They seemed to relish having their performances made permanent in a momentary recording and allowed me to freely photograph their brazen, provocative, and liberated behavior and body language. Unlike his “High Heels” photography, these images capture not only the shoe, but the full figure, and most importantly, their fashion statements. Their individual identities, and how they presented themselves can be seen through the details of their stylized appearance.
