This site includes illustrations on some pages as a service to readers. This helps reduce confusion, especially when people have similar names, like American activists Susan Ann Robbins and Susan Ann Robins.
Many profiles of people, including my own, include caricatures. Caricature is an art form that exaggerates features. As a minority, I am always aware that caricatures may come into question due to misuse in the past. That’s why I demand accountability.
Is this the greatest illustration of me ever rendered? No, but my caricaturist is doing this for no pay.
I believe the caricatures are all respectfully rendered and based on actual images when available.
Investigation
Shortly after this site began including illustrations of profiled people, questions began to come in, including some concerning allegations about my caricaturist (who is an absolute machine). This page addresses some of those questions.
After an accusation about the illustration of gender critical troll Jesse Singal, I commenced a thorough investigation into the allegations.
First, it’s very difficult to caricature people who fit a stereotype. Comedian Tim Dillon and many others have uncharitably noted that Singal looks like an infamous meme. Singal’s gender critical friend Katie Herzog also looks like a meme, making it very difficult to render Herzog sensitively as well.
They also “ironically” use homophobic and antisemitic imagery in self-promotions to demonstrate how edgy and cool they are. That means we must rise above their troubling behavior.
I got out some digital calipers to check the original against the illustration and found the following in the artwork:
- Eyes are bigger, more symmetrical, and looking forward
- Brows are the same
- Nose is same (but straighter and less pointed tip)
- Lips are fuller (lower teeth don’t show)
- Jawline is stronger
- Complexion is healthier
- Facial hair is darker
- Hairline is higher
- Ears are lower
Based on this exhaustive analysis, I have concluded that there is no issue here, though I do suspect the lower ears may have caused an optical illusion for some viewers. Overall, I believe the illustration is more flattering than the source image.
A reader pointed out that perhaps the issue is the lens used to capture the image. Out of an abundance of caution, my caricaturist was kind enough to revisit some images. As of 2022, the image discussed above has been replaced with the image below:
From here out, this site will do better in selecting images. I’ll also see about having alternate images made whenever people raise objections. For example, I have created a revised image of gender critical troll Katie Herzog in response to feedback:
If you ever have any questions or concerns about any content on this site, please do not hesitate to contact me.