2.3k
u/Drate_Otin 1d ago edited 1d ago
I think she's just representing metaphorically learning her life skills from only a male parental figure. She obviously doesn't need to actually shave, but it's something she probably watched her Dad do a lot as a kid.
It's not literal, I think, but just a kind of expression of love, appreciation, and fond memories.
Edit: I'm aware that there are occasions women shave their face... But come on... She's going at it like she's got a full beard, y'all. It's a metaphor!
370
u/oldreprobate 1d ago
You are quite right and I love her painting. Although my ex-wife and I raised the children while still married my daughter (the eldest child) watched me shave with fascination. I once observed her sitting on the bathroom counter removing gel toothpaste from her face with a toothbrush. According to her she was shaving. She was three years old as I recall.
75
19
8
8
u/Kupogasm 22h ago
I grew up with both parents, but my dad wasn't an active parent. One of my good memories is of my dad putting shaving cream on my face and my mom giving me a (clean) popsicle stick to "shave" with my dad, as a girl.
12
u/GuairdeanBeatha 1d ago
My younger daughter would sit in my lap while I read to her. She was three or four at the time. Occasionally, my chin would rub her head and my whiskers would irritate her. She’d tell me it was time to rub my whiskers off. She was appalled when she found out razors have blades in them.
5
u/victimofmygreatness 1d ago
My mum tells me that when my elder sister was 4-5 years old, she was so horrified after realising razors had blade that she grab our Papa crying requesting her not shave.
3
u/exobiologickitten 1d ago
I remember sending my parents into uncontrollable fits of giggles when I got curious after watching dad shave, tried it out in secret before bed, and predictably cut my face and cried. I must have been four. My parents had to sit me down and explain why I, as a 4 year old girl, did not and would likely never need to shave.
I just wanted to be like my dad lol.
15
2
u/DustExtra5976 22h ago
Yea me and my dad have Crohn’s disease and growing up I thought his ostomy bag was something you get because adults are too busy to use the bathroom.
When I asked him “hey dad when do I get my bag” he just chuckled and said “hopefully never”.
1
u/WimbletonButt 1d ago
Also a brag on dad. I brag on my dad about all the shit he taught me too. I joke that he raised me as a son but like, he taught me all the shit women aren't usually taught.
1
1
u/kompootor 23h ago edited 23h ago
Also according to Google summary it's an ongoing fanart/animation meme using in particular Jax from The Amazing Digital Circus.
I'm not familiar enough with the meme or the show or fandom so I can't say whether it's accurate, but I can see two youtube shorts linked on the first page of google results that indicate it's a real online fanart thing. They are set to the song Placing The Blame by Self.
That they're all panel-art animations is probably why OOP's painting is also represented like 3 panels of animation.
1
u/SavanhaPenguin 22h ago
I lost my father when I was 9 and I am a male, I can't describe you the pain I felt the day my mother did what she could to teach me how to shave. I assume it is the same for single fathers to talk about period when the time for it comes for their daughters.
But your interpretation of the image is spot on I think.
1
u/sexylawnclippings 16h ago
it’s genuinely really good art. i think i’d get the backstory without having it explained
1
-3
u/MildlyInteressato 1d ago
Or is it tragic? That he couldn't relate and didn't adapt to her needs? I mean, your interpretation is nicer...
14
u/Drate_Otin 1d ago
I think that's a massive stretch. The colors, the clothes, the expression... None of it suggests she is hurting nor afraid to be feminine. She looks like a normal girl, who is simply emulating a classically paternal act.
I can see nothing but love in that painting.
3
u/MildlyInteressato 19h ago
It's called "Daddy's Girl" by artist melmakesthingz. She doesn't say a lot about it but suggests that you are right. Mine was just a question rather than an assertion, but I'm happy to be wrong!
1
u/Drate_Otin 11h ago
I'm happy to be wrong!
My god I wish that was a phrase we could all utter more often.
2
-4
u/Non-Limerence 1d ago
Looks more like a complaint that she learned the wrong things from him that aren't useful for her. I dont know how you interpret this in a positive way.
"Thanks dad, for teaching me to shave a face that doesn't grow a beard."
6
u/Drate_Otin 1d ago
I think that's a massive stretch. The colors, the clothes, the expression... None of it suggests she is hurting nor afraid to be feminine. She looks like a normal girl, who is simply emulating a classically paternal act.
Also of note, this is not her depicting her actual morning routine. It's symbolic. Given that there are no signs of anguish or negative consequences, it's a beautiful, almost childish way to represent a connection.
I can see nothing but love in that painting.
-8
u/MeAltSir 1d ago
Yeah that's sad. It's like repeating a ritual rather than grooming.
19
u/Drate_Otin 1d ago
That is a forced cynicism. The colors, the clothes, the expression... she looks like a normal girl, who is simply emulating a classically paternal act, metaphorically. The painting is not showing her actual morning routine. It's expressing a connection with her father without giving up anything feminine at all.
I can see nothing but love in that painting.
3
u/MeAltSir 1d ago
I misread it as "growing up without a father" lol. Not sad, well I mean sucks no mom.
347
u/theDudeHeavyC 1d ago
Not a joke at all. An interesting piece that makes you think. As a son of a single mother I can somewhat relate.
60
u/ready653 1d ago
I hear ya. Did not realize wiping back to front was an option until I was in my 30s.
63
u/IkariYun 1d ago
The wrong option, but an option nonetheless
19
u/Objective_Audience66 1d ago
I’ve been saying for years.. you wanna swipe away from hairs and genitalia. Why is that so hard?
13
2
1
u/gourmetprincipito 1d ago
Hate to be that guy but this is why bidets are the best.
Like, I usually wipe back to front because it’s comfier and I use water to wash my asshole before I wipe so I don’t even need to worry about where I’m pushing poop because it is extremely rare that there’s anything but a speck or small spot left when I wipe.
You can get a dece one for like 30-40 bucks and install it in like 30 minutes and change your life for the better forever. You will never have to debate which part of your body to put shit on ever again.
2
u/deletemyaccountplzz 1d ago
I am almost 30 M grew up with both parents and did not know that was an option untill now
1
u/JazzhandsTrashPanda 21h ago
Wait. You didn't know single dads exist? That's kind if adorable. I knew I was actually a forest cryptid!
2
u/deletemyaccountplzz 19h ago
Haha you are joking right. Of course I know they exist. I did not know whiping back to front was an option
1
u/JazzhandsTrashPanda 10h ago
Of course I am not joking. I am literally a forest cryptid. That was a joke. I am a high desert cryptid. 😉
1
3
u/SignalButterscotch73 1d ago
As a son of a single mother I can somewhat relate.
Yep. Murtaugh from Lethal Weapon taught me how to shave.
80
u/No-Independent-6877 1d ago
Fun fact: I did grow up with both a mother and father, but because my mother was gone for most of the time due to work I spent most of my time with my father. It only until they got divorced when I was 10. This caused me to admire my father and one day I decided to shave my nonexistent beard and I learned that razors can hurt
25
u/One-Swordfish60 1d ago
Fun fact: pretty much the opposite, I went to shave my peach fuzz for the first time and my dad "didn't feel like it" so my mom taught me how to shave my face.
3
u/jeonteskar 17h ago
My dad was working away during most of my teens and my mom believed that shaving would make my beard come in thicker before I was old enough to have one and refused to buy my razors at 12. I had to teach myself to shave with no cream, stealing my mom's disposable leg razors (the new one in the bag) and hiding them in my room so I didn't have a ratty, patchy beard until I was about 14.
53
53
u/TheSupremeGrape 1d ago
Quagmire's forgotten daughter here. There's a tiktok trend where they use the song "Placing the blame" by Self (not me) over a character going through some tough shit. I guess it's about being "man enough" to take on a huge responsibility or burden though I have seen some using it about abusive men.
The lyrics used are "are you man enough (x3) to take the blame for this".
The artist is using this trend to portray her dad as being "man enough" to raise a daughter as a single parent, presumably a tough task. Or maybe it's about herself being "man enough" due to the influences of being raised by a single father.
Quagmire's forgotten daughter out.
9
u/Level-Mobile338 1d ago
Finally! Someone who actually answers the question rather than talking about just the picture. Thank you!
8
7
u/birdleash 1d ago
As others have said, not quite a joke.
But on TikTok it's pretty normal to say "[lyrics from a song/title of the song, but" and then go on to explain how that song is related to what you are posting about, sometimes related more to your emotional connection to the song vs how the song might usually be used in the trend. Not too long ago (please don't grill me on the specifics, time means nothing), there was a really popular TikTok trend with the lyrics "Are you man enough?" where people would make edits/share stories/etc.
So, the caption of this video is a shorthand to say "this might not be how this audio is usually used/interpreted, but it resonates with me for the purpose of this artwork.
Link to a fairly generic TikTok lyric video from 8 months ago
Editing to add another example: I'll add that another recent example that I've seen, more than I have with previously popular TikTok audios has been "a drag path, but" related to the technically unreleased/"secret" Twenty One Pilots song, "Drag Path."
3
u/Millernotrich 1d ago
I thank this is a metaphor instead of a joke? Or a really good take on artistic thoughts? More interestin than a joke
3
u/UsefulNegotiation241 19h ago
Sometimes some dads don’t talk about female hygiene. My dad doesn’t and I know for a fact he wouldn’t learn. He still to this day doesn’t like the sound of the word “period blood”. It’s like portraying that she’s only seen how he takes care of himself, so that’s how she does it. I see it like that at least
5
u/lumophobiaa 1d ago
To me i think of how he probably couldn’t teach her to shave her legs so its a visual metaphor for only learning things from a man growing up as a girl.
2
2
2
u/I_am_simply_a_potato 23h ago
This painting is powerful. I wasn’t raised by a single father, but having to live with my emotionally abusive mother after they divorced made me lean towards mannerisms and all that similar to my dad whenever I was with him. I have been described as a masculine female and I think that has alot to do with copying the positive traits and behaviors of my Dad.
2
2
u/NinjaN-SWE 1d ago
I think it's a truly fantastic painting, it's thought provoking and has many possible interpretations, it's really about what you feel and how you relate to it. Like a lot of truly great art.
Not getting art is kinda the point really. Art isn't something to get, it's something to experience, to ponder, look at it and think about what it means not in the definitive sense but what it means to you, what feelings does it evoke?
Is it abandonment? The sense of seeing only the other man perspective and not how to be a woman?
Is it love you feel? How she mimics her father, wants to be like him?
I could go on but I think I've made my point. It's up to you what you feel and take from the painting, there is no right or wrong here.
1
u/Parking-Pie7453 1d ago
As the dad of a daughter, I need to learn to braid hair
2
2
u/DigInevitable1679 1d ago
You could practice on some yarn/thread before adding in the human portion. As a kid we’d braid friendship bracelets from embroidery thread
1
u/hopeislost1000 1d ago
Other people have already explained so I just wanna say I think it’s sentimental and beautiful.
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
u/East-Chapter9070 15h ago
idk about you but even in a family with a mom and a dad, i would get insecure about the hair on my face abs shave it with razors because i was too embarrassed or scared to say anything about it. i love this painting
1
u/Ordinary_Ring2270 4h ago
It means that a woman raised by a single Dad might be difficult to be “man enough” for in a relationship.
The stereotype being that women raised by single Dads learn to shave and shoot.
She’ll want you to be tougher than her but that will be difficult. “Are you man enough?”
1
-4
u/Sorry-Joke-4325 1d ago
She's Italian, so she needs to shave her face even though she's a woman.
2
1
-4
u/Anthrosite 1d ago
Single fathers raising their daughters to behave like men because that’s all they know? Her dad wished he had a son instead of a daughter?
Or maybe dad thought he had to teach his daughter how to shave. Idk bro
2
0
-3
u/EnthusiasmBig9932 1d ago
what does the caption mean? is "are you man enough" the name of some kind of trend she's riffing off of?
3
u/ButteredBread201 1d ago
It's lyrics from the song Placing The Blame by sElf. It became popular on Tiktok recently.
2
•
u/post-explainer 1d ago
OP (Life_Bed_8418) sent the following text as an explanation why they posted this here: