“Artists also often depicted black women as fully clothed, intending to signify a body devoid of sexuality—contemporary opinions on the female body would almost align with this rejection of objectification. However, historically, the male gaze canonically favored sensual nudes. Male artists painted clothed black women not to veer away from objectification, but to impress their opinion that black women’s bodies, and therefore all of them, were not worthy of respect and appreciation.”
promoting gender equity in the arts
The PurplePrint 