Need some advice ♥️
Added 2021-09-21 01:28:34 +0000 UTCI posted this anonymously on the LGBTQ subreddit I’m part of about a month ago, but with kink-tober coming and a lot of NSFW coming, I really need some advice! ( I got some in the subreddit, but I’m always down for more advice from my fellow LGBTQ+ peeps!! )
Here’s a copy and paste of the post I made there so I don’t have to type it all out LOL!!
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- NSFW artist needing advice regarding the fetishization of MLM and WLW in NSFW artwork
Hello! I’m quite nervous to be posting this, but I need some genuine help.
I am a nsfw artist who makes a living off of what I create. Art is a huge part of my life, financially and emotionally. In the past year, I made the transition to primarily drawing NSFW artwork, realizing I have a love for it and people seem to enjoy it!
But I have a few concerns…
I am pansexual, and I really enjoy drawing all sorts of bodies, but I am heavy in a fanbase of a gatcha otome game, in which all of the characters are male. The main character (the player, you) has no gender, which I love, and makes the game playable and enjoyable for everyone.
But this means I draw men. A LOT.
I draw them in sexual/intimate situations mostly solo, but I do also draw them together or with other female or male characters. I have female characters of my own that I draw in sexual situations as well. I try my hardest to have variety, because that is what I prefer and so everyone can enjoy, but my main following base follows me because I draw the male characters from this game.
The point I’m trying to make here is I’m worried about fetishizing MLM by drawing these characters together in sexual situations. ( they don’t have a set sexuality. I consider all of them pansexual anyways, just because the game itself implies that )
I also worry that by drawing my own female characters in sexual situations I may be fetishizing WLW as well.
I’ve tried to do my own research on this. Truly I have. But I have been met with uninformative and angry blog posts saying fetishizers are disgusting. Understandable; but unhelpful. I really need to know what to stay away from, how to be a good NSFW artist, and how to be able to draw these characters without the constant worry of hurting someone or feeling like I am uneducated.
I myself only came out as pan sexual recently. It’s still a learning process for me.
I’m sorry this post is all over the place. It’s 3 in the morning here and I just feel this would be the best place to get advice. I’m quite nervous about posting this, but please know that I’m coming from a place that just wishes to be educated! If you’ve made it this far; thank you! Any advice is very appreciated! ♥️
( I should also mention I am a woman, a lot of discourse I see online about this has to do with women fetishizing mlm and gay men. But I also worry about fetishizing WLW because of the nature of what I draw for a living )
Comments
Thanks so much for the helpful comment ♥️ I agree, When drawing mlm/wlw ill be mindful of what my captions are, as I know that can draw the wrong crowd / have people act super icky in the comments! Im a bit older as well, but I’ve really only started drawing humans recently ( I’ve actually drawn horses my entire life pretty much as funny as that is 🤣 ) so all of this is new to me. And being new to the LGBTQ+ community on top of that, I wanna make sure I do everything right! Of course I’m sure I have a lot more learning to do, but a lot of this advice has me off to a good start so thank u so much!! ♥️♥️
Iversiin
2021-09-21 21:32:15 +0000 UTCThanks so much for the advice!! And oh I totally remember the MLM ‘craze’ ( feels weird calling it that, but really…) and when I was younger I was definitely influenced by it. This was back in like, 2008-9 ish. I really only started to realize this past year that a lot of it was super troupe-y and harmful. I can distinguish reality from fiction, but I don’t know if a lot of people can! Especially children who are exposing themselves to 18+ spaces! And I totally agree with you on everything you’ve said. ESPECIALLY THE LUKE THING HAHAHA the poor chihuahua, our little barking boy!! So much love for him 🤣
Iversiin
2021-09-21 21:29:17 +0000 UTCI've tried to read all the other comments so that I'm not retreading the same points when someone else has gone in better depth about it. I'm a cis bi dude, and I think that while it's not impossible by any means for people to be fetishists of/within their own communities, I think lgbt+ people engage with nsfw art in a different way than cishet people do. As comments have said before, not writing gross captions, and doing more than just mlm/wlw is what makes the difference. I am also older than most of the fan base. I am in my 30s, and while it may be a little bit controversial, I say get paid. You are already being very responsible in just being willing to ask, but I can only ever hold an artist to a certain level before it comes down to putting food in the fridge and paying bills. What the fanbase does with your art can unfortunately only be so controlled. As with most others, I agree: keep drawing varied bodies, feel free to show off ocs, and keep yourself as financially stable as you can!
Zdravko M
2021-09-21 11:06:02 +0000 UTCThere are two things with me: 1. I have started finding NSFW content in the wild days of the net far too early, and have worked through the subsequent issues since then. Fetishization due to unrealistic expectations was one of them. 2. I have come to realize that I was an asexual, and demiromantic she/her. I find a lot of art aesthetically pleasing, regardless of content, as I am not sex-repulsed. However, I have lived and worked through my group of friends our own MLM obsessive times when it was "trendy" in our teens. Considering how people are, there will always be those who see MLM content as fetishizing in every aspect, same with WLW. Never mention the lack of engagement a lot of people get on their OCs. I appreciate finding artists coming from the different lens available. Seeing women of all shapes and sizes is a welcome change in many artworks recently. All things considered, I see it as another fetish that exists. I worked my way out of it by seeing more varied content, and learning more about the community reality of people being people, regardless of preference. I am a firm believer of drawing what you like, especially if you've already put so much effort into it. I mean, I follow artists from cutesy to horror, all the way to NSFW. I appreciate the skill needed for all forms, as I am now re-learning from the ground up. And while I am ace, I believe appreciating all forms of beauty is absolutely fine, but the fetishization aspect is both in the eyes of the beholder, and in my opinion, the fact that you are exploring your own pansexuality. The fact is that you are in a fandom where ikemen rule, honestly the only character off the list is the resident chihuahua and smol bean, when it comes to NSFW things. Sorry, if it was rambling. I'm not used to giving out opinions like this.
Thunderbird
2021-09-21 05:12:01 +0000 UTC
