Nowhere to hide

Male nude models have a special problem female models don't: What to do if they get a woody?

By Pegi Taylor

Nov 29, 2000 | As a curious female and an art model, whenever the opportunity arises, I ask male models if they've ever had an erection while posing. Most have at least one story to tell -- though usually not about themselves.

One of the most knowledgeable people I ever talked to about the subject was Robert Speller. Speller probably hires more models than anyone else in New York as modeling coordinator at the New School for Social Research and Parsons School of Design. He started modeling in the 1960s and has seen it all: a father and son who modeled together; a couple who would pose as Adam and Eve with a live snake. In the late 1970s he set up modeling engagements for Madonna.

I asked Speller what he thought about male models having erections and he replied, "Well, men are vulnerable to the air. All male genitals change shape. There are rustlings in all of us, you know."

Once, Speller received a complaint that a model had ejaculated during a pose. Speller considered the model one of his best and called him to ask him what had happened. The fellow explained he'd been reclining with a spotlight shining right on his crotch. He continued, "Let's just say I might have been glistening."

Art schools are always looking for new models, and I hope my stories won't discourage any man from deciding to join the profession. Just a few weeks ago, I asked some artists, at the end of an open drawing session, who have been coming weekly for years and years if any of them had ever witnessed a woody. None of them had.

We models exhibit and expose ourselves when we pose, and our sexuality is part of who we are, but we don't intentionally aim to stimulate ourselves or the artists. Any male model who enters a studio wanting to wave his poker around should leave. As Jerry, one of my favorite Milwaukee models, put it, "I don't find modeling erotic. I have to be in intimate contact with my wife for that. People don't believe me, but I mostly forget I'm nude when I model." He's worked in the profession for more than 20 years, and his penis has never acted up on him.

Next Page: Students pestered Pete to masturbate for the next drawing

• View blog reactions