In catherine opie’s "melissa & lake, durham, north carolina," the depiction of gender is made ambiguous for what reason

To challenge assumptions about identity based on appearances.

Explanation:

"Melissa & Lake, Durham, North Carolina" is part of a photography series called "Domestic." Catherine Opie was trying to portray gender fluidity by showing non-straight people and couples doing mere activities and without overpowering her photographs with distractors, making them as simple as possible as to challenge the public to see these people without labels and help them understand that identity is not based on appearances.