I dabble in the arts and I look for inspiration in everything. Well, almost everything. I’ve been painting since I was thirteen, and my tendency has been to draw women; women in nature, portraits of women, and women in different settings of life.
Lately, I’ve wanted to explore the other side of the coin and draw men. So I’ve been looking for a muse. A male muse. Strange perhaps, but let me explain.
A muse is a person — typically a woman — who is a source of artistic inspiration. We’ve seen examples since the dawn of time of men looking at women and wanting to (pro)create. Picasso is one of many male artists who has had muses, women he desired and who fueled his creativity. However, we rarely hear about female artists and their muses. Which begs the question can men be a source of artistic inspiration for women?
I say HELL YEAH, I’ve (Instagram stalked) seen my fair share of men who have inspired my desire to (pro)create. So what’s up with the disparity in muses?
Well friends, fear not I have a theory and it has to do with the male gaze.
The male gaze is the way in which society tends to depict the world and women from a masculine point of view.
It seems to me that often times female narratives and viewpoints are ignored. Female desire and sexuality is disregarded as women tend to be held to stricter sexual standards publicly and so outright expressions of female desire are looked down upon. The sexual double standard is why we don’t often see the female artist, writer, director creative’s view of men and her desire for him.
I believe we need more examples of uniquely female expressions of desire and intimacy. After all, it takes two to tango. In all aspects of life, I encourage women to share their viewpoint and stories. Desire and intimacy should not be any different.
Without the female perspective, we will not experience the fullness of human expression and creativity.
But then again, I may be looking at this too deeply? Maybe I just wanna perv on hot guys ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I’d love to hear your thoughts on this.
*I write from my heterosexual perspective*
-written by Nana Kennedy Kwofie
To see more, check out her Medium at: https://medium.com/@nanakennedykwofie