I'll try to answer with some order, but today my brain is not ordered, so please forget me if I do some confusion
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In a way I'm taking the role of the counterbell (is this an English word?). I'm happy with that as I am "publisher", so I am on the other side of this discussion. I just hope not to polarize the discussion too much, having La Fanu loose part of the original topic intent.
However I like this discussions, even if they are really very dangerous, and probably sometimes upsetting. ^^
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Classical male nudity
I would have to talk with my girlfriend about classical art. The Greek (if I recall correctly) embraced the nude, while the Romans, for instance, did not.
Again, however, I think we should take into account that nude breasts and a nude chest are totally different worlds, even if the amount of clothing is the same.
Balance
Before we can call it "balance", we must see how different are the male and female visual expressions in our culture. The female beuty is much better "codified". I don't know your experience, but I know many women able to judge (correctly) the beauty (let's maybe call it attractivness) of other women, while I don't know many men able to do the same with men. Western culture, at least has an autrageous maschilistic tradition to see women as decorative. That's why women fashion has much more volume than man. Again, think of any elegant dinner you attendend to. You will see that man have been basically clothed, and dressed basically the same. While women were less clothed and much more diverse.
What I want to say is that the world we live in is NOT balanced. Should be?
Or maybe should the woman attract/Lure, and the man hunt/pursue? The man fight and the woman choose? I really don't know, but equity is not necessarely balance and balance is not necessarely equity.
Maybe balance is the expression of complementariety.
That said, I would not really know how to begin when building a deck. Sorry.
Idealized women
I think most Tarot decks depict an idealized world. The grass is green. There is no garbage in the street. People don't scratch their ass in public, and they have all their theeth (even in medieval themes decks).
Yes, it's not realistic. It's idealized: symbolic.
When we talk about majors, don't we talk about Archetypes?
When I see the script of a deck, I usually assume that the artist will make all characthers "appropriate" to their role. The young man will be dashing and handsome. The young woman innocent and alluring. The old king wise and strong, etc... (you see the sexual energyes of the young man are not blatant, but they are definitely present. The knight is in a shining armor, indeed). And when the script goes in a different direction, it does usually for a reason. It is meant to challenge and surprise.
I maybe think that - as Firemaiden maybe pointed out - we live in a world that is afraid of sex. The "innocence" of the Star is seen (not just for Sapienza, for me as well) means that the Star should not exude any powerful sexuality. Well... if we see the RWS, do we see a totally asexual deck?
subtle sex energies
This is what I'm most concerded about.
In LS we experiement with different kind of decks. Sometimes we have decks that are heavily structured. It means that every part of the deck is controlled. These decks usually work with similar styled kind of reading: controlled, right brain, etc... Other kind of decks are the result of a flow experience. We do not control, but rather channel he creative process.
Most decks are a balance of these extremes. That is what makes some decks good an some decks bad (not talking about sales, but "quality"): we don't really choose, rather we try.
However, in many decks (and maybe because of the comic book background of many artists), we have a sublte sexuality that cames as an underground current. That is what mostly interest me, as I think it really influence the overall feeling of the deck, much more than any single card, or graphic, etc...
marketing
I think you should grant us that we know what we like and what we don't like.
Of course. ^_^ BUT we are talking the public, not you the person. And you quote the Decameron and the Gay Tarot as examples of the presence of a market willing to buy over some concept. I know sales figures for those decks, and ... when I see most people asking for something A, I see a contracdiction. I could say - figures in hand - you are a minority. But I'm not convinced the answer is that.
I was not presuming to know your tastes better than you, believe me. Yet, I have sales figures and they are a definite "people like perfect breasts" kind of opinion I cannot ignore.
court cards
How do we accept that the Tarditional structure of Court Cards is TOTALLY unbalanced in direction of males?
Should't that be changed (we have some decks that do)?
ric