Declining Odalisque
Digital Illustration, 14”x11”, @Sareytales 2024
The title of this piece is a play on. the classic female pose known as the “reclining odalisque”,
or “reclining nude”, made famous by prominent artists such as Matisse and other white, European men.
Here, the woman is depicted as the Exoticised Female Form, an object existing as if only for the gaze of the artist as well as the (intended) audience, typically white, heterosexual and male.
Reclaiming the Gaze
The classic “Reclining Odalisque” exemplifies the concept of the male gaze by depicting the intimate and vulnerable position of a nude woman lounging, exposed without her consent. The “Declining Odalisque” reframes the male gaze, and we consume this art from the perspective of the subject, our odalisque.
She is looking into a row of gilded mirrors, peering at what one would assume must be her reflection. But instead, she can only see these words written on the glass “Hormone decline due to age in a woman is just a harsh reality” [sent by Cutetallguy, 23].
By brazenly reflecting the privately delivered insult back to the audience, we invert the male gaze by exposing his message for all to see.
Critiquing the Message
Description: Messages sent by a man via dating app Plenty of Fish.
Analysis: After the initial message was ignored, Cutetallguy doubled down, hoping that reminding the recipient that she will, in fact, age, would convince her to reply favorably to strange internet man.
Interpretation: Please lower your standards because time is running out for you.
Judgement: Insecure and fragile man does not like being ignored. He is insulted that someone facing the impending doom of hormone decline would reject him.