I traveled from the UK to NYC to meet with a group of LGBT girls, I took many photos of the journey, and I left with a wider knowledge of how people manage homophobia and self acceptance in a world still marred by ignorance and homophobia. Here follows some of the images that I hope will draw you in to a way of life often kept hidden from wider society, and show you a few moments in the lives of others who still deal with this prejudice in their everyday lives.

Union Square is a place where many groups of people that are outside, or perhaps on the edge of accepted social norms meet and interact with the knowledge that they are relatively free from harassment, it exists just outside the alternatively cultured area of St. Marks Place, a safe haven for LGBT people (and a hotspot for great pizza)!

Shot a the hotel room in NYC, mid afternoon.

The NYC artistic community has a long history of ignoring or fighting off homophobia, in spite of its many barbs, and this still stands true today. Within the art outlets and circles of the city there is little prejudice, no sly glances, and no words shouted across streets, and this open air graffiti gallery was no exception to the rule- a place where anyone can go with a can of paint to express themselves freely.

Art has always stood as an outlet for expression of self, and of response to the surrounding world. Many of the girls I met in NYC used their creativity to express and work through what they were experiencing. Growing up outside of the accepted social norms is never easy, but sometimes getting things out of your head and onto paper or a wall soothes the mind and rids the heart of bitterness.

This girl created a stencil, which for me, reflected her acceptance of the way she wanted to dress (even if it be adverse to popular social norms) and through this acceptance emerged a certain playful arrogance. The message it stands for perhaps, being 'wear what makes you feel good, and you'll feel like you look good'. Dress to impress however you want, it's your body, not society's.

The boy who treats his sister as an older brother, despite the parental protests. Youth knows not how to ostracize, they can only learn it from those who teach it. If a child will stand against homophobic prejudice of his own accord, there is hope for a just future.

Tired of the city, tired of the people, tired of the journey through both?

Shot on a long drive from NYC to the woodlands of Pennsylvania- where the surroundings are beautiful, but many of the people are quite viciously homophobic.

The road trip brings with it inevitable feelings of freedom and lust for life, which contrast sharply with the reality of stopping for food in places where people stare and point at these girls with short hair and boy's clothes on. An uncomfortable transition to say the least.

Pennsylvanian forest, where people are few and far between, and if two girls want to hold hands the trees won't start protesting. This images is shot from the back of the car that had just arrived at the cabin we stayed at, and marks the beginning of freedom of expression, without fear of oppression for those involved in the trip.

The freedom of Pennsylvania demonstrated how warped many social norms are. Why should it be only men who canoe alone, or fish for lunch, or smash up firewood with an axe...? A place like Saudi Arabia, where a woman is forbidden from even driving a car seems like another planet away in comparison. How behaviour so normal and harmless to some females, can yet causes violent, angry, and unjust responses from the homophobic population is something that baffles me.

The grief of feeling hatred or ostracized is something not understood by everyone, but for LGBT people it is inevitable sooner or later. The solidarity of people who suffer homophobia is warming to the mind, there is a connection there that stems from this shared experience and it creates an somewhat undefinable bond. For people to feel like they are not alone is, I think, an underestimated privilege.

People are people- we all have the same needs, we all sleep, eat, breathe and love, and there should be restrictions on none of the above. Without love, life is perhaps as empty as it would be without food or water.

Enduring and repetitive homophobia still hounds people, even in a place like NYC and so the old joke that LGBT persons often move in packs is hardly surprising. Everyone tends to know everyone, and many of these social circles tend to lean away from consisting of many 'straight' people, I think it's still a case of safety in numbers, and solidarity in the bad times. But underneath all that the groups still have the same wishes as any other group of people anywhere- peace, unity, and a better world.