Any objectification of a human body is usually critiqued for reducing people to their physical attributes. But is objectification really always a bad thing? Or can objectification be positive? How about the admiration of the human form?
When it comes to the male body and how it's portrayed in art, it always heavily depends heavily on the artist’s intent, or the context of the work, and/or how viewers of that artwork define the objectification.
I am an artist who paints and draws the male form. I do think that the question of the objectification of the male body is a very complex one, with many aspects and nuances, among which there are positive ones.
Yes, sometimes it happens that some artists can objectify models, male and female. But we, artists, can also humanize, celebrate and mythologize them! In my opinion, it’s not straightaway an objectification just because we study and show models' bodies on canvas.
While working with male models who pose nude for me, I often idealize their forms. When I say this I am not talking about the so-called "standards" of the male beauty. I am talking about in a sense an adjustment in order to create a form that is appropriate for a more harmonious composition I have in mind. This happens differently in each individual case of each artwork. Sometimes there is a simplification, and in sometimes, on the contrary, an intensification.
Let's stay on the bright side and turn to some positive aspects of showing the nude male form in art:
Self-Esteem
It's not a secret that traditionally men supposed to feel unattractive. But now, despite the fact that tradition instills in men their own ugliness, they might find value in a male form being shown in art as desirable.
Emotions
Standards of Male Image
Of course, this artistic objectification of nude male body is only good if done respectfully, with love to the artistic object (male body) and... yes, on consensual grounds.
