toxdoc42

I just found this in a discussion on Quora:

Why wasn't the depiction of unclothed models in art frowned upon in the morally strict 19th century?
In Sweden nudity in art was unacceptable unless the artist had a good reason for painting nude women (nude men was not a big problem).


This might seem like a depiction of a nude woman but it is actually a pious picture of Susanna (Book of Daniel). The story of Susanna in the book of Daniel was not part of the Swedish Bible but it was not a reason not to have a picture of her just to contemplate the biblical story. Susanna (Book of Daniel)

The few times someone posted a male nude here, it was greeted with distain at best. Is this a societal change, or something latently psychological?

Jack47 Loc: Ontario

This is not a good forum for male nudes since most viewers are male and most males prefer female nudes.

toxdoc42

That is why i posted this. We need to attract a more varied group of members, and images. Just my opinion.

PaulW128 Loc: Long Island, NY

Excellent topic and questions! This is going to get interesting!!

Jack47 Loc: Ontario

And here I thought we were trying to attract photographers.

WirtzWorld Loc: SE WI

Why not male nudes? I posted one (Nude no. 260) and it was fairly well received.

toxdoc42

Maybe what we need is for every photographer to post at least one male nude. That will either improve the site, I happen to think it will, or so sink it, ok hope not because I learn a lot from it.

Jack47 Loc: Ontario

Ok. Here is my male nude.

(Download)

PaulW128 Loc: Long Island, NY

How long did it take for you to come up with that??

Is that supposed to be funny or clever?

JohnFrim Loc: Somewhere in the Great White North.

Here are my thoughts on hitting the nail on the head (pun?) regarding male vs female nudity. What I admire a lot in nude photos is the human form AND the message being conveyed in the image through pose, background, lighting, etc.

Female nudity: Thankfully (from my perspective) women’s breasts are a significant part of the human female physique, so I am quite happy to see them in all their glory in a nude photo; but I don’t find exposed female genitalia attractive. I suspect the female breast is attractive to me because of shape, size, angle of view, etc, AND because they are generally hidden from view by clothing; there is a bit of taboo and titillation that I like.

Male nudity: males show their breasts all the time, be it in sports, swimming or sunbathing on a beach, or even when doing yard work in hot weather; so I don’t find photos of bare-breasted men very interesting, even though I can admire a great physique. And as with women, I don’t find male genitalia attractive.

So in a nutshell (pun?), I have no problem with nudity of either gender; but there needs to be an important reason for including genitalia in the photo. If the same message can be conveyed without exposed genitals I would opt for the less revealing photo.

That said, I don’t know why I have a high degree of acceptance of statues of nude male figures.

toxdoc42

Interestingly, you consider the male genitalia essential for the male figure. Here are two shots from a session many years ago as ppart of a class I took in photographing the male nude. I shot then on film, HPS ushed to ASA 100. I did clean it up a bit with PP, but mostly out of the camera. What do people think of thses, as art?

(Download)


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dpullum Loc: Tampa Florida

The word "Pussy" was made acceptable in 2005 and here is my nude pussy photo contribution.
These Nudes are Gargoils that came to life about 2022 years ago, as shown in photo 2. Note the Crusfiction on the hill far right. Dear Tattoo was a keep-warm-by-cuddling girl

Sphynx Cat

(Download)

He Died Now I May Live Again

Stephan G

To understand the cause, one only needs to turn to the nearest church (any denomination). There are other causes for the "fear of exposure", but this is not really the venue to explore the sociology of the various societies.

The nudes of the middle ages were the result of the re-emergence of the Ancient Greeks into Europe. Because of the interest in the Greeks, many found reason to emulate their appreciation of the human body. The Catholic Church fought hard to reduce the influence, but lost to the general desire for Art by the populace. The nude form was adopted to use in the presentation of the various religious icons.

There was a period in the USA that required men to cover their chests in public. (And, yes in other parts of the Western Civilization.)

We can look at the more recent issues of the battle of the pubic hairs. I.E., Playboy magazines vs the Law. (Censors).

One salient reason given to why naked women outnumber the naked men is that As viewers, we seem to go for the curves than the angular shapes. (Again, a chapter for its own discussion.)

The fact is that this topic can pull in many facets, even unrelated ones, to just even to try to comprehend the why of the predilection for the female form over the male form.

Here's an oldie: It is very difficult to sculpt a penis and sac on a statue. (And some of the sizes are more easily broken off.)

But as a topic for discussion, it will be interesting to read.

Stephan G

The Ancient Greeks appreciated the male form, evidenced of the statuary from their time. The two shots remind me of several I have seen. The Ancient Romans duplicated the Ancient Greeks.

par4fore Loc: Bay Shore N.Y.

IMO; I've seen the negative comments for males, tattoos, age and body size. Some real jerks here and there and opinions expressed rudely. If you are going to comment it's nice to be nice.
If you post your art (no porn), I want to see it.
If you post male nudes maybe put that in the title.