Read on Twitter
I've been editing comics for 20yrs now. I started when I was an intern age 20/21 at Vertigo. My actual degree is a BFA in illustration. I've studied the male gaze academically + been subjected to it my whole life. I know its role in art and how that impacts culture.
Comics, as pop culture, art & storytelling, exists in an interesting space with a complicated relationship to the male gaze. And I'll tell you, after 20+yrs at this, I'm way over dude artists who have always exploited the male gaze acting like their work is above it.
I don't care if you're partnered with a woman, I don't care if you have daughters or a mom. That really doesn't have anything to do with what you're doing with your art work, knowingly or unknowingly. And let's be real, most of you know EXACTLY what you're doing.
I've commissioned covers for all kinds of books from all kinds of artists. Some of them have been deliberately sexualized, with full intent & purpose, though they're also story relevant & audience appropriate.
Plenty of people who aren't cis het men like sexy covers. But what makes an image sexy is very subjective ESPECIALLY when you take into account how our culture defaults to the male gaze.
Additionally, I'm bi, which means I find a wide range of humans sexy. However, personally, I don't like objectifying anyone so no matter how attractive I find someone or an image or someone, the fact that they're a person comes first. This includes characters.
It's not new or controversial to say that a LOT of female characters are depicted as sex objects more than as characters who are also sexy. Especially on covers. That's just demonstrably true.
Personally, I don't find just T&A sexy. It's certainly sexualized but it's like @kellysue sexy lamp theory. Agency, power, character, expression, sensuality, even humor, are more interesting dynamics and sexy to me than any brokeback.
A lot of people don't really know or understand the concept of the male gaze in art and since our culture defaults to it, including in stories, a lot of people aren't even aware of it or the influence it has. It's like white supremacy that way, obviously.
Quite a lot of comics artists went a long time without having to hear criticism of the sexual objectification in their art. They resent it, and I get it to a degree, sort of. I've never had the luxury of creating anything without scrutiny.
If you go most of your career without ever having to think about what negative impact your art may be creating, it must be hard to hear. Again, I kinda get it, but also I approach art differently. I assume it will be critiqued & I think a lot about the impact.
