Artist Compiles Hot Male Avatars for Feminist Art Show -- But Ladies, Are They Hot to You?

Hello ladies: Look at your man, now back at these male avatars, now back at your man... well, you get the idea. What you're actually looking at is detail from a set of 25 Second Life avatars compiled by Los Angeles artist Kris Schomaker (Gracie Kendal in SL), who selected them from her latest Second Life-themed art project, 1000 Avatars. She's submitting these gentlemen to an upcoming feminist art show at Rutgers, "Man as Object - Reversing the Gaze". In most traditional art, she explains, "women have been painted and created to support the male gaze. For their pleasure. This show is a feminist take on that. A reversal in which the male is used for female viewing pleasure."

Of course, because her men are avatars, another layer of meaning gets added:

"Are they really women [in real life]? Are they gay? Does this change the idea of the female gaze? The title is actually '25 most beautiful men?' So the question mark is very important. Are we really looking at men? Who are they? And of course, I love the ideas of the backs again, symbolizing anonymity but also in this case, I believe a form of objectification."

It's a topic we've covered on New World Notes, largely via Iris' yearly Hot Male Avatars column. My curiosity is how hot they actually are, from a woman's perspective, notwithstanding several layers of mediation there are in a screenshot of a male avatar, and an actual male. What say you, my female readers?

As for Gracie, she chose her 25 males from hundreds of candidates because "Each has a real character to him. Whether more sexy or hip, artsy or beautiful." And no, she insists, the sole criterion wasn't a smashing ass.

"When you have seen 1500 butts," as she tells me, "they all look the same after a while."

Oh yes, you wanted to see all 25? Courtesy Kristine Schomaker, see them all after the break. Possibly not safe for work viewing, what with the farrago of dude buttocks about to fly your way:

I'm tempted to conduct an informal poll: Which one is the readers' favorite? Anyway, see many more avatars (male or otherwise) at the 1000 Avatars Project here.

Comments

[Emperor Norton]

The irony in the contest will give someone an aneurism from all the clotting.

Between the teenage boy faces on body builder bodies and the string bean female body shapes we all have a clear idea of the stupid, hormone crazed ideas women get from the SL Market place. Teh Intertubes long ago have proven sexism isn't just for men.

[Rawst Berry]

The people in these pictures were told their picture was for the 1000 avatars project, and they got to choose their own appearance. Gracie didn't tell them what to wear. I thought the whole thing about "male gaze" was men choosing the clothing and dialog for females (models, actors, comic book characters, whatever.) Because these men picked their own appearance, not women, this is just another example of male gaze, except this is directed towards themselves. These avatars represent what being a "hot male" means to men, not to women.

[Rawst Berry]

PS: If you want a real example of female gaze, look at yaoi and shonen ai manga. Obviously that doesn't represent all women, or all western women, but it represents female gaze a lot more than THIS recycling project does.

[Arcadia Codesmith]

The avatars that compel me to take a second look are not the ones with appearances that scream, "Look at me! I'm HOT!" Being physically attractive in a world where you can buy attractiveness off the shelf is no big deal.

The ones that catch my eye are the ones that make some statement beyond hot and cool. Wit is nice. So is a touch of whimsy or even unabashed sentimentality.

But primarily, the ones I find worth looking at are the ones that say "this is me" rather than "this is what I imagine you dream about".

So subtract shirtless/naked guy with tatts and exaggerated muscles from the above selection and you're left with what I might find 'hot' (if I'm in that rare mood where I have any interest at all).

Journalists in white linen suits are another matter entirely...

[Hamlet Au]

!!!

[shockwave yareach]

Some people make even the simplest thing difficult.

You create your avatar however you like. You dress it up so that it appeals to YOU, not to the rest of the virtual world. If everyone else stares, so be it. If not, then so be it. And what sex, color, religion, etc the real live driver of the avatar happens to be does not matter -- not one whit. Male avatars run by women. Female avatars run by men. Dog avatars run by cats. Who cares?

[Iris Ophelia]

@Rawst Your point about shounen-ai and yaoi is a perfect one-- it's male-on-male primarly made by and for women, so if you'd going to find the female gaze in any medium, it would be there, even though the male aesthetics don't always align with Western tastes.

[Thaiis Thei]

Not hot. Not even one.

[Harper Ganesvoort]

Maybe a few of them are interesting; but most of them are just a little too funky-chicken for my old-fashioned tastes. (Probably why I like running around in Dior gowns at night in world. Daytime and modeling are another matter entirely.)

[MIstletoe]

I guess I don't get what it is that makes objectifying male avatars a "feminist" art exhibit. Is it the idea of "Look! We're objectifying MEN now, so it's all equal and stuff!"? Taking on the worse characteristics of one side is not equality. It's just taking on the worse characteristics of the other side.

[jot zenovka]

Who thought this up? Male avatars as a feminist art exhibit? It had to be a guy. Had to. Women will hang out with embarrassing noob male avatars so long as the users behind them are articulate and intriguing.