Gay guys draw vaginas
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I saw everything! How do you think a project like this one can be a part of that discussion?Wilson and O'Malley: We are becoming less defined by our genitals, and there are books and books on that. She’s in a power skirt suit, purple with gold buttons.
What do you think it says about our society that we are so defined by our genitals -- especially in light of the new wave of transgender visibility and activism?
But it also gives people a comfy script to follow, a marker that lets them know they are "OK." The project is part of a larger discussion about how we define ourselves, but only if you approach it in that way -- because not everyone has or will.
Why isn't the book called "GAY MEN DRAW VULVAS," since vulvas are what many people have drawn?Wilson and O'Malley: We're asking humans who identify as "gay men" to draw a "vagina." What they draw, whether "accurate," or ridiculous or abstract, is up to them. As a gay man, she was my idol growing up, and I was listening to her earlier in the day.
I believe with this drawing, I have elevated the female vagina to a higher level that allows gay men to connect with it, appreciate it, and, most importantly, comprehend that they should explore it with caution because it is indeed a frightening specimen that still so little is known about within the gay male community.
Larry Collins
My vaginal muse is Hillary Clinton.
If you believe that getting people to think is political, then one might say the project is political.
What's the most surprising thing you've learned as a result of launching the project?Wilson and O'Malley: We're surprised by how fascinated we've both become with the artwork. Everyone at the table became fascinated with these drawings.
We were onto something.
A few months later, we set up a “Vagina Collection Booth” in the gayer locales of San Francisco.
We really love the collection and all the things it makes us think about.
Is there any possibility of a spin-off series of lesbians drawing penises? To keep the excitement going, Shannon asked Keith’s boyfriend, who was also at the table, to draw one. When we started the project, we loved the idea and its potential, but back then it was all "what if?" and abstract.
One guy at our art booth in the Castro handed Shannon, who is a female-bodied person, a drawing of a vulva with the phrases "CLAMS ANYONE? So what happens when you ask a gay man to sit down and draw one? It is up to the viewer to look at the project critically and start having ideas about what it means that this prompt even interests people and what the artwork (and it's organization) in the book says about us, the artists, bodies, language, and our time and culture.
Make of that what you will. Next to our table we hoisted up a giant pink sign that read “DRAW VAGINAS HERE.” It was a barely scientific study. Just the name sounded scandalous and fun. I heard the word “vagina.” What I saw was a wattle. What response are you hoping to get?Wilson and O'Malley: We just want reactions. And it worked: people sent us vaginas through the Internet.
People have expectations of you that you might not want or be able to fill. His creation sparked a totally fun vaginal conversation.