3 ms·

You're refuting with no evidence an article with very compelling photographic evidence.

mc32 5y ago
I’ve gone to places that exhibit live butterflies and I watch live butterflies feeding in their natural environment. It’s anecdotal.
FpUser 5y ago
We have swarms of butterflies here every end of the summer and I can confirm that it is true. Plenty of those sitting with spread out wings, folded wings and all kind of in-betweens.
- iainmerrick 5y ago
  It’s not about whether the wings are open or closed, it’s that the “dead” ones are drawn with the wings raised up above the head. It’s as if people were always drawn with their arms raised straight in the air -- not an impossible posture but a pretty unusual one.
  - mc32 5y ago
    Not all the “dead” one are drawn to show and highlight their wing geometry and colors. Iconic ones, yes, typically, but some are drawn in flight, feeding, and wings fanned out but not unnaturally. Now, iconic ones, yes, typically. But it’s the same for other exemplary of iconic models. When did you last see a toilet door with a natural picture of a person rather than an iconic outline? The same could be said of lots of things. When we have a concert T-shirt of a performer you more often than not get a more of less straight on shot. Or political candidates. You get their headshot not a profile pic or a pic of the backs of their heads. Why should depictions of butterflies depart from a pose that exposes more of their recognizable and appreciated features? What about flower photography? Why don’t they use shriveled up wilted flowers for Valentine’s Day? Why do they look for perfect specimens? Sure, I get it, “ha ha, look you idiots that’s not the natural pose of butterflies, you guys and gals have been getting fooled and I’m not”
    - iainmerrick 5y ago
      Not all the “dead” one are drawn to show and highlight their wing geometry and colors. Iconic ones, yes, typically, but some are drawn in flight, feeding, and wings fanned out but not unnaturally. I just did a couple of image searches. First, searching for "butterflies", I get many different photos of real butterflies in various postures. The most common is wings open, spread out horizontally. None of the real butterflies have their wings stretched upwards in the pinned-out posture. Second, filtering the same search with "image type: clip art", fully 99% of the results have the wings spread out and stretched up. (The 1% is detailed, realistic drawings.) Now, whether you care about this is another matter, but it's hard to deny that that article is onto something. There's a very consistent quirk in the way butterflies in particular are illustrated. Sure, I get it, “ha ha, look you idiots that’s not the natural pose of butterflies, you guys and gals have been getting fooled and I’m not” I think you're misreading the tone of that article and the people citing it. It's not anger or contempt; it's sadness that real living butterflies aren't widely understood, and hope that the stereotyped depiction can be improved on.

mc32 5y ago

I’ve gone to places that exhibit live butterflies and I watch live butterflies feeding in their natural environment. It’s anecdotal.

FpUser 5y ago

We have swarms of butterflies here every end of the summer and I can confirm that it is true. Plenty of those sitting with spread out wings, folded wings and all kind of in-betweens.

iainmerrick 5y ago
It’s not about whether the wings are open or closed, it’s that the “dead” ones are drawn with the wings raised up above the head. It’s as if people were always drawn with their arms raised straight in the air -- not an impossible posture but a pretty unusual one.
- mc32 5y ago
  Not all the “dead” one are drawn to show and highlight their wing geometry and colors. Iconic ones, yes, typically, but some are drawn in flight, feeding, and wings fanned out but not unnaturally. Now, iconic ones, yes, typically. But it’s the same for other exemplary of iconic models. When did you last see a toilet door with a natural picture of a person rather than an iconic outline? The same could be said of lots of things. When we have a concert T-shirt of a performer you more often than not get a more of less straight on shot. Or political candidates. You get their headshot not a profile pic or a pic of the backs of their heads. Why should depictions of butterflies depart from a pose that exposes more of their recognizable and appreciated features? What about flower photography? Why don’t they use shriveled up wilted flowers for Valentine’s Day? Why do they look for perfect specimens? Sure, I get it, “ha ha, look you idiots that’s not the natural pose of butterflies, you guys and gals have been getting fooled and I’m not”
  - iainmerrick 5y ago
    Not all the “dead” one are drawn to show and highlight their wing geometry and colors. Iconic ones, yes, typically, but some are drawn in flight, feeding, and wings fanned out but not unnaturally. I just did a couple of image searches. First, searching for "butterflies", I get many different photos of real butterflies in various postures. The most common is wings open, spread out horizontally. None of the real butterflies have their wings stretched upwards in the pinned-out posture. Second, filtering the same search with "image type: clip art", fully 99% of the results have the wings spread out and stretched up. (The 1% is detailed, realistic drawings.) Now, whether you care about this is another matter, but it's hard to deny that that article is onto something. There's a very consistent quirk in the way butterflies in particular are illustrated. Sure, I get it, “ha ha, look you idiots that’s not the natural pose of butterflies, you guys and gals have been getting fooled and I’m not” I think you're misreading the tone of that article and the people citing it. It's not anger or contempt; it's sadness that real living butterflies aren't widely understood, and hope that the stereotyped depiction can be improved on.