something I noticed recently. Something that I didn't really pay attention to
before. Was that a lot of angels and other spiritual beings are drawn androgynously. I'm going to post a picture here. I want you all to do the same. This one is of the Archangel Michael. Or as in Spanish San Miguel. You can post any angelic androgynous art.

I just also noticed there's a lot of similarities to Superman this particular art. But you can see the masculine and feminine aspects of this work. Personally I think it looks more feminine than masculine.

That is a very good observation!  Thanks.

I think this picture is okay by the rules

Here is a blog about the subject

http://homonormativity2020.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-androgyny-of-angels.html

An androgynous Angel Gabriel and the Prophet Muhammad:

I cant tell whats going on with Muhammad in that picture. It looks to me like his face is invisible?

Quote from: Pickles on October 16, 2013, 08:32:31 PMI cant tell whats going on with Muhammad in that picture. It looks to me like his face is invisible?

Illustrating the faces of the Prophet Muhammed and Allah is prohibited in Islam.

EDIT: I just also read that in premodern times, depiction of any human being was frowned upon, but this has laxed in the past few centuries. It also seems that depictions of Muhammad are acceptable by Iranian Shi'ism.

Quote from: Willow on October 16, 2013, 08:50:17 PM
Illustrating the faces of the Prophet Muhammed and Allah is prohibited in Islam.

EDIT: I just also read that in premodern times, depiction of any human being was frowned upon, but this has laxed in the past few centuries. It also seems that depictions of Muhammad are acceptable by Iranian Shi'ism.

I had a friend in school who was a Muslim and she was not allowed to paint or draw any living thing when we were in art. She said her family were very strict on this.

Shawn, I find this a very interesting observation. I had never noticed that before. I will certainly look out for it when I'm looking at religious art in the future. Thank you.

Quote from: Joe. on October 16, 2013, 09:26:14 PMI had a friend in school who was a Muslim and she was not allowed to paint or draw any living thing when we were in art. She said her family were very strict on this.

There's a lot of disparity amongst Muslims. Turks, tending to be more liberal about things, are fine with it. Some muslims don't allow depictions of sentient being. Some not of animals. Some, not of any living thing at all. I'm not certain what the opinion of photography is nowdays, though.

Hmm I would hate to have to not be able to paint whatever I feel like painting. Interesting though that they don't depict Muhammed or Allah faces. Yet Jesus usually has a ace. Anyone have anymore angelic beings?

https://www.google.com/search?q=angels+androgynous&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=cVRfUs3VH-jE4AOh4oC4DA&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAQ&biw=1536&bih=757#q=angels&tbm=isch

Google angels then go to images. Angels androgynous turned up very little that was good.

I have always been fascinated with the androgyny of angels. Even though I'm not religious by nature.
This kind of goes with the topic about androgyn privilege.
I see it as another reason we are special.
Not that we're angels, but here is a very good reference to what I was getting at.
On some level, society does understand us, but refuses to understand mortal androgyn's.
Angels, good. Non-Binaries, bad. We do have a special quality about us.
Whether it is angelic, I don't know.
I take it as a good sign, none the less.
Ativan

I'm quite partial to Ezekiel's angels...

I became interested in angels about 8 years ago through the music of Nightwish.Many of the songs have angels in the title Angels fall first,Wish I had an angel, or mention angels in the lyrics (Gethsemane 2 for Tragedy,Song of Myself).The video for Amaranth is based on Finland's national painting the Wounded Angel.I framed many angel paintings cut from an angel calendar,Gerard David's Altarpiece of St Michael and his Virgin and Child with 4 Angels illustrate the androgyny of angels.

Quote from: Willow on October 16, 2013, 08:50:17 PM
Illustrating the faces of the Prophet Muhammed and Allah is prohibited in Islam.

I actually had a qurean with drawings of muhammed, but it where also famly qurean, and as the child I am I love anything with pictures.

--
I think the angels says more about the definition of beuty than gender.
when looking at old paintings like this I see something who is potraited as beutifull and yet very diffrent from what we consider beuty if we look up at fashion magazine 2013.
The people are soft, and androgynous, kinda chubby or with great mucles.

Traditionally, angels have no gender.  Period.  That's a "human privilege". 

Also fascinating to me is that during the Renaissance (and a certain border on either side) the Apostles and other holy men were painted with feminized features to indicate purity.  Look at John the Baptist in the Last Supper by Michelangelo, etc.

Androgyny, historically at least, is next to Godliness! 

Quote from: robinmack on October 18, 2013, 04:33:36 PM
Androgyny, historically at least, is next to Godliness! 

greek philosophy. the new testament was written in greek, to reach people who only knew those old ideas of godliness and perfection. no wonder angels are androgynous.

If I'm androgynous to be an angel, I'd prefer to an archangel. I suites me, I think.
https://www.google.com/search?q=archangel&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=mJRiUp_3JoL64APW7ICoBA&ved=0CFsQsAQ&biw=1536&bih=757&dpr=1

Yah, pretty much how it would be, 
As much as I would prefer the heroic, awesome ones, I'm pretty sure that's how it would be.
Obnoxious sarcasm is pretty standard with me IRL. 
I delete an awful lot of stuff before I post comments.
*Ooh, you just missed some right now...
That's one of my all time favorite movies.
Ativan

the only archangel name i've used in rp is samael. the description i read of him made me imagine something like a planet sized hiei (for anyone who's read yuyu hakusho).

In the early days of my transition what helped my spouse buy into it was the biblical concept spoken of by Jesus where He said that there would be no marriages in heaven, so in a sense gender would not be a factor. Separate genders were a means of procreation and partnership rather than just going it alone as a true hermaphrodite would and like some lower forms do. Then there was the business of angels, none of whom had any gender designation. My spouse believes as many do that the world is on the verge of a paradigm shift whereby the nature of humankind is about to change, all of us may just be precursors of that coming event.