Spill the Paint: "Why is this so masculine/feminine?"

Before I jump into this frequently asked (and quite possibly touchy) question, please allow me a moment to clarify something really important right off the bat:

You are entitled to your opinion. Something that I often write about (and firmly believe!), is that art speaks to different people in different ways. That’s part of what makes art so magical! There’s no right or wrong way to feel about art. I am about to elaborate on my opinion about my own art. It is just that: my opinion. If you disagree with me, please know that my opinion is in no way a personal attack on yours. The reality is, when I paint, I use my own opinion, because it would be impossible to use everyone else’s!

Now that we got that out of the way (and if you feel your temper rise while reading the rest of this, feel free to reread this first paragraph!) --

When I painted my South African Animal Alphabet, I didn’t specifically think about “masculine” and “feminine” colours. Wherever possible, I wanted to depict the creatures in their natural surroundings, ie. aardvark are nocturnal, so it made sense that the background would be an indigo, starry night sky. There are a lot of blues and greens in nature: Vast blue skies on a crisp summer morning; grass-green leaves gently rustling in the wind; sea creatures frolicking in an ocean of every-shade-of-aquamarine…

Sometimes, as luck would have it, when I design a Custom Alphabet Name using my original illustrations that were scanned in, a name may contain a lot of cooler, blue-ish and green-ish colours. This is when I get this masculine-versus-feminine-question most often. I can say with complete honesty that this question does not bother me or hurt my feelings, and I would happily refund a customer who is deeply unhappy with their design. People’s opinions differ, and my morals remind me that even when they clash with my own, they still matter.

However, there is a different version of this same question that does, admittedly, force me to have to reeeeeally bite my tongue…

Interestingly enough, once in a while the critique around masculinity and femininity is directed towards the creature representing the letter: “But it’s a bird!”, is an exasperated response I’ve heard numerous times, when I show a prospective client the letter ’S’, for example. Their boy/grandson simply won’t like it, since it’s too “girly”.

I confess, this logic makes me want to scream……..! How on earth can a bird be seen as overtly feminine?! And if you actually take a moment to look at the illustration in its entirety - a male sugarbird bringing a flower to his female love - can you not see that it may be viewed as a healthy, respectful, innocently lovely relationship between masculine and feminine? Is it girly (read: weak) to treat others with love, respect and kindness? And if it is girly, what are you comparing it to? James Bond? Surely the epitome of Real Masculinity, right?! Strong. Suave. Self-assured. So self-assured, that he can make a woman say yes after saying no-no-no a hundred times! Pardon my opinion, but I think I’d rather have a bird teach kids about healthy masculinity!

Okay, okay, I’m going to lower my RAGE AGAINST THE PATRIARCHY flag now…

By now you have (surely!) picked up that it is my opinion that the idea of certain colours (or creatures!) belonging to a specific gender is outdated and often sorely misguided. I don’t believe that colours have a gender — we’ve just been taught to see them that way. I think it’s good to allow people, especially kids, to love what they love without trying to squeeze them into tiny, rigid little boxes.

I hope that most people will find beauty in my SA Animal Alphabet, beyond whatever association they may have with certain colours/creatures. My illustrations celebrate nature. They're meant to be a little educational and extremely whimsical. They tell tales of friendship, love and uniqueness. And they were designed for the innocent eye of children. Children that do not yet see in pink and blue.