Look away, straight male gaze! How life-drawing became more inclusive
When Ted Stein was asked by an old school friend if he’d consider modelling for life-drawing classes, it didn’t take long for him to agree.
Stein is transgender and never saw gender-diverse bodies when he was at art school. “I realised, how are these bodies going to make it into national art galleries if no one ever gets to draw them?” he says. “I wanted to give back to the art community in the way of representation, and also give back to the trans and queer communities, which are so vibrant and so much a part of my life.”
We speak after I’ve spent two hoursbreaking Stein’s athletic form down into shapes upstairs at the Lord Gladstone hotel in Sydney’s Chippendale – a groovy little pub covered in graffiti that’s both commissioned and spontaneous.
