Illma Gore, "Make America Great Again" (2016) (courtesy the artist)

Illma Gore, “Make America Great Again” (2016) (image courtesy the artist)

An artist’s pencil drawing of a nude Donald Trump has resulted in what appears to be an indefinite ban from Facebook. In mid-February, Illma Gore, a self-described “gender-fluid futurist,” uploaded her NSFW artwork to a private Facebook group, but soon received notice from the website that her account was temporarily suspended for violating community standards regarding nudity. Since then, Facebook has been periodically blocking her from accessing her profile, although the work still remains on the page. Gore has also received threats of lawsuit, allegedly from Trump’s own legal team.

“My last suspension (three days) stated that I could face being banned permanently for the image,” Gore told Hyperallergic. “Since then I have not been able to log on. I was suspended about six times consecutively before this point.”

While the drawing, which features Trump with what some may describe as a less-than-average-sized member, recalls the real estate mogul’s exchange with Marco Rubio about his manhood, Gore actually drew the work before the US began talking about small hands.

“The idea was to take a man who prides his image and reputation and confront him with it,” Gore said. “To evoke a reaction from people, good or bad. Because I do not believe your genitals define your gender, power, or status. Basically, you can be a massive prick despite what is in your pants.”

She has also tried twice to sell the original drawing on eBay, but the e-commerce company, too, repeatedly removed it, citing violations of their policy on “images of nudity and nude art.” The guidelines note that “frontal nudity is allowed in Art categories when the item is considered fine art, such as Michelangelo’s David, vintage pin-up art, Renaissance-style paintings, and nude cherubs.”

Gore, naturally, is frustrated by the entire situation and the seemingly arbitrary way websites react to different images.

“Who decides this hierarchy of ‘fine art?’” Gore said. “And why is this value judgement being placed on artworks for sale in an online market place or social media (you can find Michelangelo’s David pretty quickly on a Facebook search)? More importantly, why other than an attempt to try an censor the image, should eBay or Facebook ever prevent me or any other contemporary artist from selling or posting their work?”

Among those attempting to censor her include someone identifying as a member of Trump’s legal team, who called her and said that if she were to sell the original work or any prints she could “face charges of obscenity and right of publicity,” according to Gore. In response, she posted a hi-res version of the image on her website as a free download.

“It’s crazy, but no way am I backing down,” Gore said. “I’m going to put it up on eBay again today, and I am donating $100 to Bernie Sanders every time it’s taken down.”

Hyperallergic has reached out to Facebook but has not received a response.

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Claire Voon

Claire Voon is a former staff writer for Hyperallergic. Originally from Singapore, she grew up near Washington, D.C. and is now based in Chicago. Her work has also appeared in New York Magazine, VICE,...

69 replies on “Drawing of Donald Trump with a Micropenis Might Get Artist Banned for Life from Facebook #NSFW”

  1. This is great protest art! The only thing profane about the picture is the man himself. Really FB, can’t you put up a nudity block designed for people who can’t handle human anatomy and let artists express themselves?

    Signed,
    Producer of vagina art that was also banned.

    2. that is a most excellent idea. We could also use the nudity block on faces of politicians’ faces when we are dead sick and tired of seeing them on our page!

  2. I hope FB and Ebay know that they have only brought themselves more bad publicity and more condemnation by hypocritically banning this image than they would have if they had just let it be… as they would have done were this a drawing of anyone but Trump.

  3. I’m more concerned with the obesity depicted in this individual. Does not
    America want a healthy President? Obesity is a serious issue in America
    possibly made worse by business and the promotion of increased sugar in
    diets. How is his health otherwise? We need his “medical records”
    revealed”….not his birth/ citizen documents.

  4. Strange. I used this image as my profile pic once and somebody reported it. It was assessed by facebook and found NOT to violate facebook policy and was left up.

  5. is bad a man with a Micropenis?, i think he is other artist looking for 15 minutes of fame, and the political message is lost… only i see a stereotype.

    1. Your message sounds like sour grapes to me! And the artist is a she, not a he!!! Yes that is actually possible!

    4. Try reading the article again. Or just below excerpt could also be sufficient.

      “The idea was to take a man who prides his image and reputation and confront him with it,” Gore said. “To evoke a reaction from people, good or bad. Because I do not believe your genitals define your gender, power, or status. Basically, you can be a massive prick despite what is in your pants.”

  8. is there a way to get banned from facebook forever? or is that some sort of premium service?

    1. The depression story here is that there are artists who still give a shit about some billionaire’s user-surveillance site. Being granted the privilege to post this or that on Facebook is not an actual victory.

  9. I am less concerned with the size of his penis than the the fact that this guy has no balls. How can we elect a leader without the equipment necessary to stand up to oppressors of human rights and dignity?

    1. She should draw one of Bernie. His balls are probably sweeping the floor when he walks.

  11. File this in the “seeking 15 minutes of fame” department.
    “Look at me! Look at me!”
    (Puzzled as to why an artist would want to be known for drawing a “micro-penis” on a political celebrity…)

      2. So there is a great future for artists drawing naked politicians? I sense a new art movement. Impressionism, Cubism, micro-penisism…. 🙂

    3. she really knows her craft–it took more than 15 minutes to learn to draw like that–so I hope her fame lasts a lot longer than Andy Warhol’s apocryphal 15 minutes (not that Warhol could draw as well as Ilana can!)

  12. The only thing more infantile than Republican candidates carrying on about their penis size is art related to it. From the Parthenon to this! In only 2454 years!

  13. I am just amazed that this picture is considered “bad” while others showing mutilated babies, where the poster begs for an “amen” aren’t banned.

    And I’ve seen way worse nudies on FB than this one.

  14. The worst thing about this is that now that I’ve seen it, I can’t unsee it. Thanks for the memories.

  15. I feel like getting banned from fb for life must be some sort of honor..
    This email was such crap to send to my inbox, I unsubscribed.
    Please send someone to the rescue of your intern’s content posts.

  19. Oh, I would LOVE to know what this asshole has to say about this image. My guess “she captured my penis in all its magnificent glory.”

  20. I think the image is vulgar and unnecessary. Will Hyperallergic remove my comment again because they don’t agree.?

  21. Please use deviantart.com for this. There is not any restrictions and you can sell it there, as well as prints of it.

  23. But wait, if Trump sues with charges of obscenity, wouldn’t that be like calling his likeness obscene? How perfect would that be?! Another question: If FB is banning this photo as they ban photos of nipples, does that mean they equate nipples with penises? Oh, this is all too confusing……

    1. they thought it was a nip…they then gave the picture the okay, only to have some other guy go “Hey! Are you sure its not a nipple?”, banning Gore’s account once more. they did taht back and forth for the past 6 months.
      My question is: What’s wrong with nipples and why are they being removed from facebook?!

    1. Ha! You better get used to saying President Trump! This week Hillary totally screwed herself and Trump totally blew her out of the water and called her and Obama out.

  26. Clearly, this is a challenge. Donald must now verify by releasing photos of the subject at hand. The public needs to know…

    1. Yes, like his bank account.
      Seriously, women still line up to fuck Mick “Bog Body” Jagger. After a level of wealth is reached, looks/penis size become irrelevant.
      Still, it should be noted that Trump imports his wives; no long term domestic takers?

  28. Only issue I have with this is the fact that the artist is donating money to the Bernie “I am a socialist” Sanders campaign. Supporting a socialist is no better that supporting the megalomaniacal Trump/Hitler. Of course there is the career, lacking in credibility, Hillary and finally the fascist Cruz. Who you gonna vote for….?!

    1. just a suggestion–actually research “socialist.” compare it to “capitalist.”
      then, research “democratic socialist.” read about the Scandanavian countries and their forms of government.
      finally, research Sanders’s positions and his history as a politician. compare this last research to the other research.

      or….just don’t vote. i’m starting to think tests at the polls wouldn’t be such a bad idea after all.

      1. It may surprise your superior mental prowess to know that I have done my research and I very clearly know the difference between a capitalist, a democratic socialist and a socialist. Bernie Sanders is not a democratic socialist he is a straight up socialist. I am actually in favor of social democracies and know the countries you mention quite well. You see, I am a citizen of the USA that had the fortune to be born outside of the USA to parents of the US and got to see the differences in various countries governments. I would suggest perhaps you dig a little deeper into B. Sander’s political philosophies and not be so quick to accept the media rhetoric that has made him so popular.
        I would also suggest that every citizen of the USA should be required to live outside of the USA for at minimum a year so that perhaps, just perhaps, they could acquire a clear understanding of how special the USA really is by comparison. I can guarantee that I would not only pass the “test” you are proposing but I can also predict that most native born citizens would not pass your proposed “test” while our naturalized citizens would pass the “test”.

      2. Additionally, I would suggest that you revisit your English and Grammar books from grade school in order to improve your usage of the English language. I find it difficult, to take a person seriously and engage in a proper debate, when the individual with whom I am engaged lacks the proper skills to adequately express themselves.

  29. Hypocritical artist claims genitals don’t define a person, while seeking fame for drawing what 99% of her audience will interpret as a mockery of a man’s genitals.

  30. yeah but that’s pretty lame compared to what ‘jim’ll paint it’ will do if you ask him

  31. I just want to be perfectly clear here. That is NOT a micropenis. That is a perfectly natural size and shape for an unaroused penis. A micropenis is somewhere between a pinky and a pencil. Some wangs hang, some wangs shrink up. They are VERY elastic. That depicted glans can easily engorge to be a 6-8 inch boner. What I am saying, is that I— er, THIS DRAWING could be a Grower, not a Shower! Plus, maybe it is cold in the studio. There could be shrinkage!!!

  32. Sorry, as much as I hate the guy it’s rude to do nudea, much less nudes where you imagine what a person’s genticals look like for right or wrong as mockery, without the person’s a-okay. I say this as a nude model myself. It’d be fucked up if this was a female politician (say, Hillary? Ms.Obama? Elizabeth Warren?) with her giant labia flapping in the wind or crooked tits. Yet it’s okay to do naked dudes? Naw sorry, not buying it. Let’s not define people by their gentials. K?

  35. “I’m going to put it up on eBay again today, and I am donating $100 to Bernie Sanders every time it’s taken down.”

    ———————

    Odd choice of a response. Most of the employees at eBay likely already contribute to Sanders. What does Bernie Sanders have to do with eBay bans? Does he hold some special position on such things that is different from any of the other candidates?

    As with most artists, they are better off allowing their art to speak for them.

  38. Nothing says enlightened and intelligent like attacking a man’s penis size. Let’s imagine Hillary Clinton having the width, tightness, or wetness or her vagina questioned and attacked. Does Elisabeth Warren have a huge gap because she has man hands?… Sexism, ignorance, immature, and desperate are the anti-Trump crowd.

    1. um…..because trump is the most unique of candidates, bragging about the size of his penis. unprecedented, adam. HE brought it up! or failed to, lol. so to speak. has clinton or any woman run on bragging about her vagina?

      1. He was first attacked, so his “bragging” was defense and you are blaming the victim which is a tactic embraced by the left these days… Has Clinton had her vagina attacked by politicians or political activist?…

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