Autostraddle Calendar Girls 2014: Rachel is Miss September

Sometimes, SOMETIMES you can’t cover your face with smokin’ hot lesbians. When this happens why not cover your walls with them instead!? That’s where the 2014 Autostraddle calendar comes in!


Rachel is Miss September

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10 Things You’ll Like About Me:

1. My adult ADHD is both debilitating and charming. Good thing there were butterflies flying around the yard during the photoshoot.
2. This is the last thing. Get it? (Think binary.) But just kidding we use the decimal system here. Moving on.
3. I have almost everything in robot, from multiple pairs of underwear to salt & pepper shakers to a robot lunch box full of robot sandwich containers that I bring to my big person job.
4. I have a genderqueer bike named Sunshine because a day without my bike is a day without Sunshine.
5. I’m a Hufflepuff.
6. I have a retail therapy obsession that usually manifests itself in American Eagle tank tops. Sometimes the customers even think I work there.
7. Forget the carpet matching the drapes, my underwear always matches my outfit.
8. Candy Crush Saga is affecting my relationship with life.
9. Sometimes I dance around my apartment like Billy Elliot.
10. Chopping vegetables stresses me out.

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Where are you from?

My mother’s uterus, which happened to be in the Chicago suburbs. But I moved to the real city in college and then I left forever and moved to Oakland where I reside now and whine about it every day.

Occupation/Major/Passion:

The major passion that occupies my life is robots, duh! But for real, I am a computer science nerd that currently works for a consulting company. I am looking to become a tech entrepreneur (I know, “just like everyone else,” but not). I also have a few ideas for coffee shops that I want to open up. And I’m sure by the end of this month I’ll have some other super amazing idea that I’ll have to do “right now” (see #1 on my list).

Why did you want to be part of this project?

I’m usually the person that is behind the camera, so I wanted to know what it would be like to be in front of the camera. Clearly, I didn’t realize you needed to have more than one face, so I hope you don’t get tired of looking at my “super happy big smile” for a month.

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Artist’s Statement from Robin Roemer:

I want to start off by saying I wish I had a few weeks to photograph each of our 130 applicants, because they were all beautiful and inspiring! We are honored so many of you wanted to participate and we hope, at some point, we can work with each one of you. I mean that most sincerely.

This year we went through our applicants based on the survey first, the photos sent in to me had little to do with who our final picks were. We chose based on answers to a variety of questions. We wanted people who really had a sense of what the project was all about, were readers of Autostraddle, and were involved in their communities at home. We wanted women bursting with energy and love. Second, we wanted to represent our incredibly diverse our community: beauties of all different shapes and styles and backgrounds and gender expressions. Finally we found ourselves with 13 models — its 2013 now so twelve just wouldn’t do — who we feel represent some of the most brilliant our readership has to offer. I hope each of you, especially those of you who applied and were not chosen this year, enjoy this year’s calendar.

Crew:
Co-created by Robin Roemer and Sara Medd
Photographed by Robin Roemer
Wardrobe styling by Sara Medd
Hair by Taylor Stevenson
Make-up by Marla Verdugo

Line Production, Location Scouting and Catering: Sarah Croce
Design, Location Scouting, Production assistant: Alex Vega
Lighting Assistant: Kamila Baker
Production Assistant: Christina Bly
Puppy Wrangler: Mollie Thomas

Special Note: As of December 2010, we request that the comments on Calendar Girls posts, unlike every other post on this site, be exclusively positive and remain on-topic. These posts exist to celebrate women, so any  criticisms of the model, her appearance or the appearance of the Calendar Girls as a whole will be deleted. Furthermore, any direct questions/concerns about the project in general can be directed to robin at autostraddle dot com!

Before you go! Autostraddle runs on the reader support of our AF+ Members. If this article meant something to you today — if it informed you or made you smile or feel seen, will you consider joining AF and supporting the people who make this queer media site possible?

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Robin

Robin specializes in entertainment, lifestyle and portrait photography. She's also a Creative Producer, Director of Photography and co-owner of Scheme Machine Studios LLC, her production company based in Los Angeles. Robin loves shooting for TV and film and has worked with media companies like Legendary Pictures and Viacom. She shot and directed the Pride campaign for Google called #ThisIsFamily. Robin has had the pleasure of working on national campaigns for companies like Dove and Levis, and had the unique opportunity to shoot for non-profits and initiatives such as The Black List, Save the Children, Move to End Violence, Have a Hart Day, and The Clinton Global Initiative. She is most proud of the work she has done with organizations such as The Ad Council and RAINN working on national impact campaigns. Her celebrity roster includes Cyndi Lauper, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, The B-52s, Keri Hilson, JB Smoove, Tegan and Sara, Margaret Cho, The B-52’s, Andreja Pejic, and many more. She was there for Autostraddle’s birth and proudly served as A-Camp co-director for many years.

Robin has written 82 articles for us.

30 Comments

  1. RACHEL! YOUR PICTURES LOOK HOT, YOU’RE SERVING GREAT FACE, I FEEL SO FORTUNATE TO HAVE MET YOU IN THE PAST YEAR. YOUR HAIR LOOKS REALLY GOOD HERE (& I’M SURE IT LOOKS GREAT TODAY).

    FOREVERY CUTE.

  2. RACHEL!!!!! Look at those calendar abs!!! You are the best.

    “8. Candy Crush Saga is affecting my relationship with life.”

    <3

    • remember that time you, rachel, and i all met each other for the first time at a-camp as rubyfruit cabinmates AND NOW WE ALL LOVE EACH OTHER? magic.

  3. what a great calendar person to have for my birthday month! You look great!

    also, chopping veggies stresses me out too! As a vegetarian this can be a bit anxiety inducing.

  4. HOT

    also this:
    “6. I have a retail therapy obsession that usually manifests itself in American Eagle tank tops.”

  5. fate, why? now i won’t sleep in favour of thinking about super cute cyberpunky lesbians. I will officially print out your piccy and present it to the management as the reason if my work performance drops, Rachel.

  6. Beautiful!

    Robin, I wish I had seen your work when my wife and I were searching for a wedding photographer. Such a talent.

  7. Rachelllllllll. That skin. That shy smile, omg stop it. Robin, as usual, this is perfect. Miss you and all the other calendar hotties!!!!

  8. Clicked for the smile and the mohawk, got sudden and massive crush from reading the survey answers. If I still lived in Berkeley I’d be wrestling with the question of whether it’s appropriate to ask someone out in Autostraddle comments. As it is I will appreciate from afar.

Comments are closed.