It is surprisingly hard to find a traditional painted image of a male nude. It is equally as easy to find an image of a female nude. But why? I believe that it is because art was traditionally painted by men for men. It wasn't until the mid-late 20th century that women gained 'equality' with men (still a much debated issue). Before then, women generally would be housewives and would not have any riches themselves to buy paintings or have one painted for them. For this reason paintings would contain what a male would like to see and show off, ie the female nude.
The effect that a male nude can have is quite surprising. to illustrate thi sI have convert an image of a traditional femal nude into a male nude.
In the second image you can see that I have flattened the breasts to make the look more male, and added hair to the chest, stomach, armpit and pubic region. I shortened the hair by removing the bit that crosses the left arm, added a penis and flattened the right leg to make it resemble a males.
If you look at the images, the subverted image definitely appears more aggressive and distasteful; but why? I believe it is because the man is in a position that man is not often in. The man now seems passive and submissive which we do not often see. Maybe it is because men 'shouldn't' be in such a position that we do not like it. It is also well accepted that the female body is one of beauty whereas the male isn't and possibly shouldn't.