Gender question for animal illustrations
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As I read your responses, I realize that there are really two different questions -- the first is how do you indicate gender in non-stereotypical ways when it is necessary to indicate gender, and the second is how non-gendered characters are "read" by the reader. I suspect that @TessaW may be very right that gender bias is something that develops with age and/or culture and I will be interested to see if the next generation doesn't have that bias. (I know for example that all of the children growing up in my church automatically use the pronoun "she" when referring to ministers because that's what I am.)
I asked the question because the prompt definitely indicates the main character is a girl but as @xin-li said, that also means that the viewer will assume the main character in the illustration is a girl so I don't need to indicate it.
I was also thinking that there may be times, however, when I might want to indicate the gender in order to challenge cultural assumptions which, though they might be changing are still there, such as showing female scientists, male elementary school teachers etc. I like @NessIllustration technique of the eyelashes because that seems the least stereotypical.
Thanks for the help.
Laurie DeMott
instagram.com/demotlj -
@demotlj yeah, how you’re influenced throughout your life creates those biases.
We as illustators are influencers so we can either conform to already existing biases, or break them. Figuring out how to break them is a greater challenge and I think often times we conform because of the difficulty and time constraints.
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I do think about gender within a story, especially after becoming a mom myself. I paid much more attension to how the gender stereotypes have been portrayed in stories. I believe us visual storytellers have a role in shaping the culture itself. So I do feel a sense of responsibility. But that does not mean girls can not have frilly dress, or pink tea sets - uniformed rules seldomly work when dealing with culture issues. It is the spirit/attitude of the character that matters more than what she/he wear or look. I think drawing female scientists, and male elementary school teachers is a good starting point.
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@demotlj first off, thank you for bringing this up! I love when there are gender neutral characters in the illustrations as it allows the reader to come to their own conclusions. If I have to draw differences I usually imply more square shapes for a male and more rounded shapes for female when it comes to animals. Also I might distinguish by size or slight difference in color.
On the other side, I am a mom of 3 kids and one of my daughters has always hated frills, dresses, and the expectation that she's supposed to be clean and pretty. Seeing illustrations always showing girls in dresses or bows has been frustrating for her to such an extent that she prefers animal illustrations where she can ignore gender as much as possible. She also has specifically complained that there aren't as many girl characters in tracking mud in with their hiking boots, slaying dragons or looking up any type of bug other than ladybug or butterfly. Since books are where she goes for validation, while she waits for the other kids in her class to grow out of the unicorn and rainbow phase, I am constantly searching for books with similarly fierce and independently spirited girls either in story or illustration. She has even made up her own illustrations for books where she liked the story but didn't agree with small details (Hogwarts having skirts as part of its uniform was particularly disappointing).
I'm only beginning with illustration (still on year 1 and getting my drawing skills up to where I want them), but it is a very interesting point to consider. Thank you for bringing it to focus!
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@charitymunoz I am right there with your daughter! I'm 61 and have spent my life looking for female heroines that I could identify with. Your daughter's comment about muddy boots made me laugh because I live in the country, love to work and be outside in all kinds of weather, and I have lots of muddy boots, muddy coats, and muddy you name it! Why should boys get all the fun?
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I think using the eyelashes to designate females is something that works.
Just thought I'd throw it out there, though that many boys & men have beautiful, long, dark lashes. We just perceive it as a female trait, since so many women paint their lashes with mascara and draw attention to their eyes with make-up (and sometimes posturing
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@Miriam Am i the only one that has seen more men with longer darker lashes than women?
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@Miriam @Aleksey Argghhh! I thought I had solved the dilemma by choosing to use longer eyelashes and now you've thrown me back into my indecision
Actually, in the case of the illustration I'm doing that made me raise the question, I've decided not to show gender at all, and in the future I guess I'll just have to decide on a case to case basis.Laurie DeMott
instagram.com/demotlj -
@demotlj yay! I like this solution
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@Miriam I know right! This is a funny one for me. I've long done very realistic paintings in the past and painted eyelashes on the men - because duh they have the, too. But in more simplified drawing it definitely looks like a female trait. It's interesting! In the end when you're drawing something you use the tools that give the effect you want, whether it's anatomically realistic or not!
