So, I substituted for a life drawings class because they couldn't find anyone on such a short notice. We had several very attractive models come in and pose. I believe this was the first nude drawing class they had thus far. The "boys" (I refuse to acknowledge them as mature men) were whooping and giggling when our female models came in, took their robes off and posed. You could literally see the testosterone just shoot through the roof.

However, when the men came in, disrobed, and posed, they were adamant about not drawing them. Comments such as, "Dude, I'm not drawing his balls!", "That's gay. I ain't gay.", and "Only Fa****s draw men naked" were commonly heard. I told the guys that if they didn't want to learn how to draw both men and women, then they should probably reconsider their majors. They were getting so rude to the point that I was feeling a little disgusted.

Honestly, this was just a horrible display of complete idiocy. I even mentioned to them that the fine arts BEGAN with nudes. I showed them slides of the greek temples, greek funeral motifs, the italian renaissance paintings and sculptures to push this point home. They (the men) said it was different if they were drawing it from a picture or a statue.

And for everyone else, help shed some light on this. I'm not a Fine Arts major, but wow. My faith in the male species (those in their younger years) just stuck a whole new level of utter disappointment.

It got to the point that I said draw or I will give you a 0.0 for today.

I don't even know how to respond to this. Is this common? I didn't think so, but upon seeing this group of reactions, I am beginning to believe so.

So men, would you draw another naked man before you and actually give it your best? Or would you be too uncomfortable in the fact that you could see, as one of the students put it, "his junk".

And for everyone else, shed some light on this for me. This is at Michigan State University, by the way. We aren't a technical college nor are we a community college. We are a university. What happened? Why did it happen? My view of the male species (especially those in their younger years) just hit a whole new level of utter disappointment.

I would do it. I'm a terrible artist, it is something I really wish I had a talent for. You are right: their behavior was immature and childish. As you said "majors", I assume this was in college? Either the art students are very immature, OR, you have non-art majors in the class who only took the class because they knew they would get to see naked women. I would hope that actual art majors are mature about this sort of thing. Either way, the fact that they are in college and still "grossed out" by such things is sad in itself.

The behaviour was awful (not just for the male models, but for the female ones as well. C'mon, now...)

In regards to the question itself, however, I probably wouldn't be drawing either set of models. I'm not an Arts major and I can barely make a stick figure.

That's what I thought. I may have just been a sub., but honestly, I would've thought that they wanted to at least draw both sexes. What I witnessed was just a horrible situation.

If they couldn't comport themselves with decency and treat the models (of both genders) with respect, I probably would have kicked them them out of the room for bad behavior.

But I have notoriously low tolerance for rudeness.

That is quite sad. I had hoped one needs to reach a certain level of maturity before being admitted in an University.

You're talking about 18-23 year olds.

18-23 year old males are among the most immature beings in the known universe.

Practise makes perfect, you know. Just because you don't have a natural talent for something doesn't mean you can't work at it, especially if it's something you're interested in. I used to be rubbish at drawing, but time and hard work has made me, um... A little less rubbish.

That kind of behavior seems to be common in a lot of young guys, sadly. They have an odd preconceived notion of what masculinity is, and it seems inextricably linked to that homophobic, frat-house jock culture. I would have been much less accomodating were I in your position.

QFT

When I was in the army, we had to shower together, so I'm not too worried about it. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't want to have to stand there and paint some guy's junk. But it wouldn't bother me quite as much.


Look at it this way. The tards who wouldn't paint the nude males are probably closet .. ermm.. yeah, you know. Most of them, if they were the only person in the room besides the model, would have been like, "Sure, no problem. I'll paint that."

It all comes from the male psyche, where we think we have to be manlier than the next guy.

I am practicing, I just need much more practice .

That behavior is indeed all too common. The odd thing is that while the jock culture is outwardly homophobic, they all shower together on a regular basis, and the wrestlers? Just look at some of the positions they put themselves in.

But I agree, I would have kicked their sorry butts out and failed them, if not for refusing to draw, then for the behavior.

Isn't MSU one of those sports colleges where the majors are just for show, anyway? That'd answer your question about the guys there, Marina.

Yeah, at my college, the teacher would have tossed them out the door at the first sign of inappropriate behavior. I really feel bad for those models.

When I was in High School, there was an anatomy class, and something similar happened. The boys refused to draw the males. The teacher told them if they didn't draw everything, they would fail the class. So it was their choice, and they ended up dropping out. The class ended up having a 7:1 ratio of girls to boys.

The boys in the class were obviously not focused on learning anatomy, if they were whining so much.

Hmm. I'm not defending them, but perhaps you're thinking too highly of the class? Obviously their behavior was ludicrous, but if it's a class juniors/seniors can get in with seniority and it fills a Fine Arts credit or whatever for some other major, I can totally see those wonderful fellows in Sports Management and Business (lolgenericjockdegrees) saying "DUDE! Take this class, you get to see tits AND it fulfills part of your course requirements."

Some of them probably are that. Regardless, it is wholly inappropriate and rude to treat the models that way.

Honestly, and I don't mean to be rude, but I think part of it was your fault, Marina--you should have thrown them out immediately. As soon as they made one little hoot towards the female models, they should have been gone. Though, there also should have been a warning before the models even got in there, that any inappropriateness, and you're out. That way you wouldn't have had to give another word about it later, simply tell them to get out.

Not that I don't understand why it didn't go down like that, you're subbing and obviously didn't know what to expect, but yeah, they should have been out of the room as soon as they opened their mouths.

That doesn't make it her fault. Like almost every situation, it could have been dealt with differently, but Marina is not to blame for the immaturity of a class that wasn't even hers to begin with.

I disagree, obviously. The class demonstrated their inability to act appropriately when the women came in. In that situation, why would you expect them to suddenly be mature and respectful to the male models after that? If she had handled the first situation correctly, the second one never would have even happened. And it's not a matter of handling it differently, but correctly--my fiance went to an art school, and the policy was simple when it came to stuff like that. If you made even a single comment, you were out. That's the correct way to handle that situation. How Marina handled it was wrong.

But that's okay, you live and learn. I was just making an observation, because if you go and put all the blame on the students, then she might not realize how to handle it differently the next time.

If I were able to draw, and I was in the class, I would draw the men, as well.

This is why I have always preferred hanging out with people who were older than me. They aren't AS stupid as people my age. I'm nineteen, and in general, I consider myself above most people my age, and even above a lot of the adults I meet on a regular basis. It could be my superiority complex speaking, but I believe it to be true.

The problem stems from far too much emphasis on clear and resounding lines between femininity and masculinity. As children it's always drilled into your head that boys are supposed to play sports and be rough, while girls are supposed to prance around in little tutus and play with dolls. Obviously, as we have seen over the past couple of decades, this does not always apply.

People of lesser intellect (which these people are far more plentiful than those with sense)--specifically, men in this case--construe anything that isn't completely masculine, or has anything to do with the male physique constitutes them as "gay" or "fags."

If drawing naked guys isn't your thing, cool. I understand that. But if you're learning art, you need to learn everything about it.

So, I apologize on behalf of the rest of the dumb-asses of my gender. Sorry.

I did dismiss one of the boys from the class when he made a sexual and crude comment about one of the female models, something along the lines, "Man, talk about a milf. I'd do her any day." Or something along those lines. His little friends quieted down until the male models walked in. I'm a science professor. I've never come across any behavior like this. The worst I've ever had was someone moaning and groaning about having to read ten chapters for next class and write papers.

I do admit, though. I was so shocked to the point that I was stunned for a moment, until I heard that comment about a milf (No idea what that is). When they started making homophobic comments, I threatened them with a 0.0. Unfortunately, the way that MSU works, we can only kick someone out of our class if they are making threatening or sexual comments that could border on illegal and/or court worthy. As a sub., we aren't given much power at all. Though, because I am full time and not adjunct, I could threaten with a 0.0 and make it happen.

And by the way, this is a class of 45+students. Its a prerequisite to enter the program, so the ages were closer to 18 to 19.

Edit: Yeah. I really, really apologized to the models, over and over. The women laughed and said they were used to it, and the male models just shrugged their shoulders, with one saying, "Yeah. A million sperm and those are the ones that got through." I about died.