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The Naked and the Nude When I was about eleven, I saw an advertisement in a magazine that caught my eye. It was a photo of a model posing as a goddess. I gazed with awe at the delicate grace of her curved back and buttocks. I saw beauty, and who can deny the beauty of the naked female form? I tore the picture out and taped it to my wall. When my older sister saw it she questioned my putting a nude on the wall. Apparently she was uncomfortable with her younger sister suddenly taking interest in photos of naked women. After she disapproved I took it downafter all, we shared the room. That experience left me confused. Had I done something wrong? I was aware of the mistaken sexual undertones, but that was not my intention at all. I was simply appreciating beauty for beauty's sake. I felt guilty without completely knowing why. Looking back on that incident, I see more clearly how sexually confused we are as a society. Lets look at the conflicting messages. First, there is the repression, brought to us primarily by the religious right. Their teaching denounces sex as a hidden, shameful curiosity. Although I grew up in a Christian home my parents were very supportive during puberty's turbulent years. It was the Bible and Sunday School that planted those seeds of guilt in my virgin flesh. The Bible taught me that sex was wrong unless you were married, and if it was not used for procreation, then it was a sin. Through the prejudice and ignorance of my Sunday School teachers, I learned that homosexuality was wrong, unnatural, and a sin against God. So when I began to question my own sexuality I thought for sure I was bound for hell. On top of all of the religious education we receive, we then have the entertainment industries' exploitation of sex. Sex is everywhere, you only need to go as far as the next TV commercial or fashion magazine. We have Pamela Anderson, Barbie and the Spice Girls. Honestly, what does "Girl Power" mean to a young girl when its preached to her in a little, tight Gucci dress? Bottom line: sex sales. So, the message to the young boys of America is that women are basically a commodity used for sex. The girls learn that if they want to be appreciated, they need to have thin waists, big breasts, and pretty faces. It should be no surprise then, that pornography can be potentially destructive for an already sexually confused person. When young boys are bombarded with all of these mixed messages on sex, how are they supposed to feel if they happen to stumble across an issue of Hustler or Penthouse? And what are they supposed to think when they see images of naked women promising to fulfill their wildest desires, since these women are always portrayed as objects to be used for sex? Wouldnt they think that every woman must be this way? Porn is a fantasy; its pure fiction. I just dont think all of its fans are aware of that. It builds grotesquely unreasonable expectations of women by objectifying them. And it isnt just about sex; its about concentrated, formulated sex. Its about trying to see how much tits, ass, and pussy can fit into one issue. Its about trying to drain all of the emotion and meaning out of sex. And when something is drained of its emotion and meaning, its oh so easy to forget that there is a real human being in the picture (or, for that matter, in your bed). So how is art distinguished from pornography? Portrayals of sexuality in art tend to contradict those found in pornography. While in pornography the main theme is to arouse sexually, the theme in art is to stir ones thoughts and emotion. For someone who has been exposed to pornography, this differentiation can be confusing.
Im not saying that art is free from stereotypes of women, but sexuality in art for the most part at least has some message or aesthetic value. Take images of lesbians, for instance. Studying for this article I came across beautiful, realistic paintings of women together. My favorites were by Courbet. Courbet had a talent for portraying the emotion and tenderness involved in a sexual encounter. His nudes were portrayed knowingly and lovingly. Unfortunately, I learned that even though his paintings of lesbians were realistically depicted, they were produced and sold for the pleasure of his male friends. Sad to say, there is nothing new with that double standard. Pornography is strange to me. Its empty. I honestly see nothing wrong with people looking at pictures for self-gratification, just as long as they know its fiction. But for me, when Im done looking, Im left dry. The pictures dont tell the whole story. The sexiest picture I have ever seen was on a postcard in a gay bookstore. It was of two women in bed. One woman was lying on her back, topless, with a lit cigarette in hand. The other woman was sitting on her knees facing her lover. The woman on her back smiled up and met the eyes of her lover with a look of satisfaction, adoration, equality, and contentment. I stood there a long time staring at that picture, knowing what all of those other porn magazines were missing. Images courtesy of Mark Hardens Web Site: Artchive |