There was a time in the US where the only way artists, producers, directors and etc. could get by with showing an exposed female abdomen (Although belly buttons completely w ere out of the question.) was to depict Harem Girls. They were usually abducted Caucasian females and they appeared in everything from advertisements for men's shirts to comedy movies. Sex sells; it always did and it seems likely to me it will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. Back in the 1940s and early 50s when I was a lad (Started trying to draw nude women about age 13; so I was probably healthy mentally.) a lot less of the female body was allowed to be exposed in public. People thought it was scandalous that Actress Betty Grable was showing her legs in 1940 (They were insured for a million Dollars US.) and they became an Icon during WWII. The US was and in many places continues to be one of the most sexually retarded place on Earth. The furor over the Bikini was ridicules. So... I say thank God for Harem Girls; otherwise I may have never attempted to be an artist.
Helmut
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This one is from a comic book I believe was published in the Mid 1940s. called "Slave Girl".