What are they, active lesbians of San Francisco?

The photo project "Dorks" is dedicated to women who feel confident in their own skin, namely, in a masculine image. They wear short haircuts, and looking at them, sometimes it is difficult to understand who is in front of you – a girl or a guy. But they are proud of their choice.

When photographer Meg Allen started photographing her lesbian friends in San Francisco last year, she had no idea that this project would become so personal for her. Allen describes herself as a "man–like" girl - she's been like that all her life. "Sometimes, I tried to be feminine, but it always seemed wrong to me."

Her photo project called "Dorks" reveals the masculine essence and beauty in a series of photo portraits of women. Allen was inspired by Jill Posener's book "Just a Girl", but wanted to raise the image of female masculinity to a new level. "I lived in San Francisco, and at that time it was a city of masculine women... but the proof of that was only this book and a pathetic handful of others like them." Feeling that this was unfair, Meg Allen decided to create her own project dedicated to masculine women.

(11 photos in total)

1. Meg Allen describes the "Dork" project as follows: "This is a tribute to those who were not afraid of life beyond the binary system; those who can change the pronouns "he" and "she" during the day."

2. "Who are ashamed in the shower and who are viewed with suspicion at airports."

3. "Those who want their children to call them by their first name, because neither "mom" nor "dad" suits them."

4. "This is a tribute to the women husbands, lesbians and butch who continue to thrive in our time."

5. Allen grew up in San Francisco, but was truly amazed to see "so many people" like her.

6. "They looked like men, but they behaved proudly and defiantly."

7. "It's hard when people stare at you."

8. "They get angry because they can't figure out whether you're a boy or a girl. Why is it so important?"

9. "Especially when we are pregnant – this is the first thing a woman is asked."

10. "As if our attitude towards this person depends on it."

11.