First of all I have to thank Boris and Larry for clarifying the subject line. Frank please don't abbreviate when talking about male nudes, it doesn't do the subject justice <g>
On Mon, Nov 25, 2013 at 4:14 AM, knarf <[email protected]> wrote: > The catalyst for this little missive, I must admit, is Bruce's recent series > of NSFW semi-nudes. That being said, it's not directed specifically to or at > Bruce. It's more a comment on the whole female nude thing. Others have posted > similar photos in the past and likely will do so again. > > My problem, of course, is the objectification of women. And it's not because > they're sexualized by showing "dirty parts". It's because there's such a huge > disparity between male nudes and female nudes. > > As in: there has never been a male nude shown here (that I've seen in some > thirteen years). I don't believe I've ever seen a penis here. What comments would it get? "It's crooked, you need to straighten it in Photoshop" or "sorry dude, pharallax error":) > A couple of years ago someone posted a few photos that appeared to have been > semi-erotic (but not nude) gay pin-ups. The only comment I recall was > something to the effect that, "all I see here is gay soft-core porn". > No comments about the technical aspects of the shots, the nice light, > nothing. I stand accused and guilty myself. Can't tell what would I say about that without actually seeing the photos. I'm straight so possibly no reaction at all unless they are really good in a photographic sense. > I only mention that because there seems to be a double standard here: it's > okay to show female sexuality but not male. And I wonder why? It's okay to post whatever sexuality you want, as long as your models are adults and willing. Me not commenting would mean I didn't find it interesting or don't have anything constructive to say. Or simply not having the time. But it certainly won't offend me in any way. > But here's the rub: showing genitalia and breasts is sexual. It sexualizes > the women. There's nothing wrong with that. Some photos are aiming to be just sexy, others are artistic nudes, pinup, glamour or what other genres are there. You generalize a bit much. > Even if they consent to it they are being portrayed in such a way that shows > them as primarily sexual persons which takes away from other aspects of their > being. That's where I disagree. That photo would accentuate the sexual aspects of their personality without telling much about the other aspects. But isn't that the point of the genre? It wouldn't take away anything. I don't expect to see a photo of a person (nude or otherwise) and say that I know him or her. > I know that sexuality is a part of our adult lives. > > However until there is some balance between portrayal of the genders I can't > support female nudes. Because until that happens females will be sexualized > and males won't be. And I just don't think that's right. Males are also sexualized, maybe not as much. Think about the new trend of metrosexual men for example. > I'm not trying to stop anyone from posting female nudes. But I won't > encourage it by commenting (except in the rarest of circumstances). I respect your position and having equality also in this regard would be good (at least for the ladies on the list <g>), it would be difficult to achieve. Maybe you could start by posting some BMX bikers doing tricks with naked upper body. Lighting that in an erotic way goes much beyond my abilities so don't ask me how to do it. Maybe Bruce would know:) > In closing, I'm no prude. And I'm sure I'll be accused of spouting the > politically correct lefty party line. So be it. You didn't come through as being prude, and I don't care at all about politics or being politically correct, so you have nothing to worry about:) -- Attila -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
