Kasaix: It’s no secret that men and women are treated differently in the same fields of expertise. In the world of art, we have women such as Margaret Keane and Hiromu Arakawa. Margaret Keane is famous for her art portraying children with large eyes, a style famously employed in The Powerpuff Girls (from whom we get Ms. Keane). I wanted to find out how female hentai artists were treated in comparison to their male counterparts, so I reached out to two I have gotten to know recently. First, a bit of history.
While painting, Margaret Keane’s artwork was shown and sold under her husband’s name, Walter Keane, who also took credit. She later announced the truth, and after a court battle in 1986 against him and USA Today, she was awarded $4 million and the satisfaction of knowing her art was properly attributed to her.
In the case of Hiromu Arakawa, the mangaka behind the legendary Fullmetal Alchemist series, it is a bit more mild in comparison. Her given name is Hiromi, but she used the name Hiromu, a more male-sounding name, to hide the fact that she is a women so her manga series wouldn’t be immediately brushed aside for being developed by a woman.
Today I’m talking to Kuro, someone I’ve interviewed twice now (she’s fun to speak with), and Kinkymation, someone I have recently interviewed (and is just as fun to speak with).
Kasaix: So, let’s begin. What do you think about the treatment women recieve in the art community?
Kuro: I only know a handful of female artists, so I can’t really speak for the majority of us, but in my personal experience it’s an overall positive treatment. People have been very supportive of my work, and generally pleasantly surprised if they find out I’m a girl :)
Kinkymation: Well I’d have to say I can only comment based on what little I know about the treatment of women in the art community and my own experience, which to me is not enough information to properly assess the treatment of women as a whole, the example provided while lamentable seem more like individual examples. Personally I’ve received nothing but good treatment from fans and clients alike!
Kasaix: Are you treated differently compared to your male counterparts?
Kuro: Yeah, I’d say so. Not too much, but some things I’ve noticed are that people are more friendly/cutesy when talking to girl artists. People will strike up random conversations, wanting to get to know me personally (I’m not sure if guy artists also get these messages?), and I get a lot of offers to roleplay! But in contrast, people are also more likely to try and push you around I think. Like questioning or even insulting me if I change my commission prices, continuing to message me and try to push the matter if I’ve declined to work on their project, and other things like that.
Kinkymation: I don’t think I am, as mentioned I’ve received nothing but kindness and good treatment from the people I’ve interacted with and I’m extremely happy with what I have and what I do! I won’t lie, I was expecting to get some comments here and there or the occasional flirt considering the nature of my art and the usual stories on the topic of women on the internet and I was pleasantly surprised of how respectful and fun my experience has been.
Kasaix: How have your fans reacted to you being a female?
Kuro: Most people don’t realize it and will just call me ‘he’ or ‘him’. I don’t really care xD For the people that know, they don’t really bring it up, which is fine with me. Unlike Kinkymation, I don’t really talk on stream or show my face, I’m kind of shy about that!
Kinkymation: I do art streams two times a week to interact more with fans and have fun! I show my face on those streams and I also don’t shy away from using my name or letting people know I’m a girl. And besides the occasional compliment my gender is rarely a topic of discussion or part of the conversation.
Kasaix: I’ll admit to being guilty of this, but what do you think of artists with seemingly gender neutral names first assumed of being male? This is why I use gender neutral terms in my articles if I’m not sure I’m speaking to a male of female.
Kuro: As I said before, I’ve had this happen to me quite a bit! It’s not really an issue I worry about. I also try to use neutral terms if I don’t know the gender of the artist, but I don’t think it’s a big deal if you mess up sometimes!
Kinkymation: I think is a fair assumption to make, I don’t really know the numbers but I believe female artist rarely thread in this subject matter, so most hentai artist going around there are probably guys, so if you were to assumed one to be a guy you’d most likely be correct, so i completely understand where the assumption comes from and I take no offense to it, in fact before I facecammed on stream I was pretty sure most people thought I was a guy!
Kasaix: Do you think the ideal of the art and hentai community will ever be reached and there will be equal treatment of both men and women?
Kuro: What’s the ideal of the hentai community? xD Great quality free porn?? xD Hahaha, umm.. I think overall it’s pretty equal. But I don’t see things really changing anytime soon, for the small differences.
Kinkymation: I don’t really know what the “ideal” is in this case, but I have not received any unequal treatment in my own experience doing hentai art. I think I’ve been treated fairly as an artist and again most of the time it’s about the art and all the wonderful characters I get commissioned to portray, so it’s rarely ever about me or my gender.
Kasaix: Do you have any final thoughts about women who draw hentai and their experiences in the hentai community?
Kuro: I want to support them to do it! I think sometimes it’s discouraged for women to explore their sexual sides, and I know I was super embarrassed to start. But it’s worth it, and very fun to dive in to! Just make sure that you’re ready for the ride ;D
Kinkymation: Well I’ve had a great experience so far and I don’t really think my gender has been a factor on it at all, besides an “oh that’s nice” or a ”cool” I don’t think the fact that I’m a girl has had a real impact on my experience. I believe what matters is the work I do and my art!
