Saturday Is For Art: Nipples Too

Yesterday I received my November issue of VANITY FAIR magazine with a photograph of Marilyn Monroe on the cover. I flipped through the magazine as I usually do checking out what articles I may want to go back and read like the one about Merrill Lynch. While flipping through this scented magazine, I could do without all the perfume ads with foldouts of the many fragrances they are selling, I came across a two page Estee Lauder ad with one whole page devoted to the Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign. On this page was a woman's hand pushing against her right breast to cover her nipple with the words CONNECT COMMUNICATE CONQUER printed over her spread out hand. This photograph caught my attention. But, why do we almost always cover the woman's nipple? Where is the advocacy for showing the full breast with the nipple? Now, some people will think I am a little crazy to suggest that there should be nipples showing in the case of women's breasts, but men's nipples are always shown and those nipples are dysfunctional. Dysfunctional nipples are acceptable, but women's nipples that really have a purpose are covered up. I would like to see the whole breast with the nipple. Can you imagine if Modigliani painted all those beautiful nudes and covered up the nipple on every breast? What would that have looked like? I think you get my point, I am for nipples too.

Stay tuned.

The pencil drawing was done over 15 years ago when I was a regular at the CAC's Thursday night sketch group.