Luna

My children are grown, but when they were growing up, if I was painting a nude, I didn't throw a sheet over it so they wouldn't see it. There is nothing shameful about the human body. I'm not talking about porn, which is degrading to everyone, just simple nudes like we are seeing here.
I understand that different parents have different views; I just wanted to add mine.

Robindcr8l

I didn't post this to make anyone angry, just to make the point that not everyone here is going to appreciate the inundation of nudes all of a sudden. I disagree that the classics are the ones that are blatantly obvious. Most of the "classics" that you refer to are subtle, like many of yours, solo, where the form is apparent, but not every detailed body part.

One thing that not everyone understands about children is that they are very concrete, very black and white. It's why I have to make the rule that a helmet must be worn whenever there are wheels involved, otherwise there is the argument that he doesnt' need the helmet for the bike, because he doesn't use it for the scooter. So when I'm trying to teach my pre-pubescent son that nudity is off-limits on the computer, it's not so simple to say it's ok in one form but not another. Kids just see a naked person, not a "classic" or a piece of art. Then suddenly it's ok to google naked women, and I guarantee the images are not classic art. So when it comes to my discretion with my kid, I am probably more conservative than I would be if he were a little older and more mature.

I don't want to get in a big back and forth discussion about the whole thing. It's kind of like politics and religion. I doubt anything about my opinion will sway anyone's decision on what they want to draw, and I doubt anything can be said to make me really appreciate this challenge. I think some of the work is lovely, and I am in awe of the talent involved in drawing it, but I think some of it is done for the sole purpose of shock-factor and testing the boundaries on the site. The broader the boundaries become, the more we open the door for the really tasteless stuff. And I would be sad, but I know full well that I always have the option to just not log on. So in the end, my opinion here is just babble. (Actually, I'm a babbler since infancy!)

matthew

I searched the gallery & am @ a loss to see anything going 4 shock factor... not one single pic has genitalia hanging out... (though I think both male & female genitals are quite wonderful & beautifuly made)...

That said, I don't blame you robin for not wanting to give your child any "gray area" to work with... Gray grows quickly...

solosater

I can see your point on the nudity is nudity is nudity but what I think really needs to happen (and please don't feel that I'm attacking you as a parent; you sound like a really great one) is that parents need to spend TIME with their children explaining the difference between porn and art and how one is debasing and sordid and one is beautiful the same way that in a car you have a shoulder restraint and an airbag so you probably don't need the helmet.

I do understand too that children grow at different speeds and a preteen boy is going to have difficulty seeing a great difference between the two. My mother drew my brother and I pictures (vary detailed ones) of what sex was and what was ok and what was not when we were very young (I may have been 5 I know it was before grade school) so that we wouldn’t be confused by what we might hear at school or on the TV. I grew up in a home where we all ran around in our underwear most of the time and thought nothing of it. I still do. That’s how I was raised and while you may choose a different path or your child may need a different lesson plan, I have to say, neither me or my brother ever had that SEX SEX SEX thing that seems to happen when kids really don’t understand what it’s all about.

solosater

Since there does seem to be some trouble with the whole thing, I’ll cut it short. Not because it is in any way wrong or offensive but because I’d like to keep the peace on TD.

The challenge will end Thursday at midnight TD time. I hope that works for everyone and I hope there will be no hard feelings for anyone.

solosater

She's nude but it's just a head and shoulders shot anyway...

http://www.thinkdraw.com/picture.php?pictureId=54267

Robindcr8l

Solo, your comment about your last pic made me laugh! The pic is fantastic, by the way....don't know how people are able to get that shadowing so effectively. Anyway, I didn't mean for you to end the challenge early, but I'd like to thank you for at least hearing me out, and seemingly respecting my opinion even if you don't agree with it. I honestly do appreciate that.

And no, I did not feel as if you were attacking my parenting. I am always interested to hear different parenting techniques. I think it's interesting that your mother drew pictures for you. It has never occurred to me to use art to educate my son about the human body or sex. It makes sense though, that an artist would choose that technique. I am a nurse, so my education with my son usually comes from a more clinical perspective. Instead of bringing out a book of classic art, or attempting to draw (I shudder to think of the confusion THAT could create, given my limited abilities! LOL), I pull out my medical books and show him the bodies and explain what he is looking at. I don't think one technique is necessarily better or worse than another, just different. But I do agree with you that hiding it or acting ashamed of it does more harm than good.

So again, thank you for hearing me out. I promise I wasn't trying to start controversy or disturb the peace, and I will zip it up now. Good night everyone!

belladonnis

Hello everyone!
I don't know how to get my picture on the comment page. I want to start by saying since I received 2 comments about children in regards to my pic "Are they pinecones or acorn tops" that I in no way wanted to offend anyone and if I did so I am sorry. I did not do it for shock value or to be distastefull. I have 2 girls 11 and 7 and I do not allow them to view sexual content in any form. But I am open about the beauty of the female body and want them to learn the importance of loving there bodies with intelligent minds and see the beauty of their form.

belladonnis

By the way......How do you post your pic here?

eliza

http://www.thinkdraw.com/picture.php?pictureId=54308

Nikkie

Belladonnis, bring your pic up, then go to the top of your screen/left hand corner, and click on address, will turn blue. Then right click on address, a box will come up and right click 'copy'. Then go to forum, at bottom and hit reply, right click, then hit paste!!

belladonnis

Thank you so much!

belladonnis

http://www.thinkdraw.com/picture.php?pictureId=54094

solosater

In re belladonnis & Robindcr8l's last comments: I believe it must have to do with girls vs. boys.

Girls seem to need more encouragement about their bodies (and of course they have all the fun of turning into "women" in their teens too) and so we make sure they understand that they are beautiful and normal. Plus girls seem to be more mature about the whole thing, though of course that is not true of all.

Boys on the other hand get all hormonally charged and we do whatever is necessary to shield them from that skanky girl or teenage fatherhood or stds by keeping them away from all forms of anything that might be sexually stimulating to them. I don’t know that this is the best way but I’m not a parent and I’ve never been a teenaged boy so I really don’t know anything about it.

What I do know from experience is this, the forbidden tempts like nothing else.

When I was about 16 my mother sat with me and asked if I’d like to try drinking. (My mother has never been a drinker, she’s a diabetic and really can’t plus I think she just doesn’t like it. My father was an alcoholic and there is quite a lot of addiction on his side of the family. We never had alcohol in the house unless someone else brought in a bottle of wine to go with dinner or something but that was rare.) She wanted to make sure I felt I could come to her and said “If you want to drink I’ll get you something to try and you can do it here but please don’t ever do it when you are out with your friends and especially not if you may be driving after.” I told her I would keep it in mind but that I’d seen my father and others drunk often enough that I didn’t have any desire to drink. I was 23 when I ordered my first drink out and have never developed a taste for heavy drinking.

My mother was raised by an absent father and a resentful mother so she, as a single parent, was flying by the seat of her pants; I am so glad she had sense. So many of my friends at that time were in so much grief: addiction, teenage parenthood, stds and the stress of it all but I was educated about the things they were experimenting with and their parents didn’t have a clue. I never felt the need to try something just because all of my friends were doing it, to this day I’ve never tried a cigarette, never taken any illicit drugs, I’ve been plastered three times I think but stopped drinking for the most part about 5 years ago as I knew I was on a slippery slope. I do have a drink about once or twice a year.

My point is, don’t hide it from them, educate them, and not with scare tactics but with the truth, the time you spend with them now talking and listening and really knowing them will last them their whole lives, and if you skimp on it, that will too.

I'll get off my soap box now...

matthew

Ummm... Solo.... Ummmm... I think you were on MY soap box by mistake... I think yours is still in the cabinet...

solosater

Does that mean I have to say all that again?

matthew

*** This post has been removed at the request of our users. ***

anotherronism

This is just a comment from a single adult male who has no children. I'm not jumping into the fray here.

But there isn't a child alive who hasn't seen his or her own body every single day of their lives.

If the naked human is taught to be horrible or distasteful or harmful to them - what then do they think when they bathe - of themselves I mean?

I know from personal history as a child myself. I grew up in a house where you had to take your pajamas into the bathroom with you and lock the door. My own body was so maligned in my own family that shame, bashfulness and outright fear of being nude - even in appropriate places (shower at school, etc.) became the norm for me.

As a teenager - it morphed into sexuality - to the point that any naked person, boy or girl - became a sexual object. I'm 43 years old and still carry a lot of baggage from my father's obsession with us being covered at all times.

Folks - you teach a toddler what a finger is, what a nose is, belly buttons, chins, etc...

All I'm saying is be careful about obsessing over this with your kids. Even if they forget it later - they'll never forget it.

solosater

I'm so sorry ron, I know people who were raised that way too and I know the pain and confusion it can cause when you are young and that those feelings never go away even if you learn to cope.

I'm getting more and more afraid for the children here and not because of the nudity...

Luna

Nude salad
http://www.thinkdraw.com/picture.php?pictureId=54375