Anyone who knows me know I'm no stranger to sexuality. I talk about sex very openly. I am friends with several pornstars like Natalie Mars as well as the awesome people over at I Hit It With My Axe. I also talk to some NSFW cosplayers such as ChelHellBunny. I frequently find myself sticking up for them because they often come under fire, portrayed as being less than a cosplayer or person because you can see them naked online. I attribute this mostly to the internet giving vocal minorities a megaphone, but if it was just that then I wouldn't have made this post. I've noticed that it's quite common for people to look down on sex.
So it's pretty obvious nudity is accepted in traditional art. The famous Birth of Venus, pictured below, is a perfect example. Anyone can see the deep symbolism behind nudity. This isn't going to be another post about how "just because you don't understand art doesn't make it wrong". Plenty of those exist already on the internet. No, I'm making this because quite a few people are being conditioned to think that sexuality is something to be ashamed of.
You could say "Oh Jonathan, you're assuming so much here." But take a look at a few things in our society- how sex is often hushed as some no-no topic. We see this in the broadest strokes with things like the lack of sex ed in schools. The number of people who don't know symptoms for gonorrhea, syphilis, and other STIs in men and women is ludicrous. Most of those same people don't even know some STIs can still be transmitted even if you're wearing a condom. That's another thing, too. Ask any teenage boy if he was taught how to put on a condom. (I wasn't.) We see this in other aspects of life, too. We say "pornography" as if it's a degrading label, yet anyone's interest history would suggest otherwise. Even the way sexuality is viewed in non-pornographic media says a lot.
People are quick to condemn sexual characters in media, especially sexual female characters. Take Harley Quinn in Suicide Squad or the controversy of Bayonetta 2 a few years ago, saying how "it's only for the pleasure of a male audience". When you're doing this, you're assuming several things. The first being that only heterosexual fans exist. There are lesbian and bisexual women who can find a sexual female character attractive, just like how I and other LGBT men can find Channing Tatum's character in Magic Mike attractive. (Yeah, the people who thought Magic Mike was just for female enjoyment are equally guilty of the prejudice.) Not that you have to find it attractive to enjoy it. See, art by its very nature can be evocative. The next thing you're assuming is that sexuality is somehow wrong for women to embrace. The most popular piece of fiction among women in the recent years has been the erotic novel Fifty Shades of Gray* which shows that 1) the idea of women being afraid of sexuality is bullshit and 2) it's something almost every human being craves. There has been a MASSIVE sexual market geared exclusively towards women for as long as porn has existed, yet hasn't gotten any mainstream attention like ones targeted towards men have.
A good friend of mine, Demi McCulloch, makes NSFW art. Specifically, watercolor paintings of nude women. Thing about Demi is: She's a lesbian. She makes her art celebrating the female body for other women to enjoy, so she can't help but laugh at the idea of a sexual woman being only for male pleasure. I also know for a fact any of the LGBT women who read this can name NSFW artists they enjoy. Plus their friends either also enjoy it, or at the very least know that they enjoy it. Sexual media is extremely popular among LGBT women. Natalie Mars can attest to that perfectly, she is pretty popular with some of her LGBT fans, many of whom she considers her friends as well.
One of Demi's paintings
I hate seeing people who make NSFW art embarrassed to show it off due to some skewed outlook on sexuality. It's more common than one would think. (Natalie Mars often gets messages from people saying how much her confidence inspires them.) NSFW art can and does have tons of personality and passion behind it. Let me give you an example:
Number 1:
Number 2:
Does the first picture have any less personality than the second? No! Both of those capture Harley Quinn perfectly. People put a ton of imagination into both, yet the first is somehow less artistic because it's sexual? That idea is horse shit- stop being afraid of nudity!
Just because a person is sexual doesn't make them lose value or worth as a person. Nudity isn't even sexual most times! Look at the Birth of Venus posted earlier as an example. You could say sex *can be* condemned, which you are absolutely right. Some forms of sex are deplorable- for example: cheating, pedophilia, and bestiality. But the important part of that is "some forms". Context matters; to condemn sex as a whole is just ludicrous! There is nothing inherently wrong with sex, being sexual, or even sexualizing objects or people.
Things that aren't inherently sexual do not lose value for people sexualizing them. A perfect example is the recent game Overwatch which has gained a cult following. It has captured the imaginations of its audience in more ways than one. We have amazing cosplays and fanart, but also no shortage of smut either. The characters are not just sexy, but uniquely sexy. Does this mean Overwatch is less of a game for the dickload of Rule 34 that exists out there? Absolutely not. The game is still just as fun and if you can't get over the porn for it then that is a personal problem. Nobody is forcing you to watch the porn (though you'll see some in just a second because it's my blog and god dammit I want Overwatch Rule 34 on it). I think Blizzard should feel proud in a way- It has managed to inspire people in a way no other game has. Plus, porn is free advertisement. For example: I had no idea about Final Fight until I saw Poison futa, especially with how much EdiTheMad loves drawing her. And on the topic of futa:
There's so much Mei futa and it is glorious.
Just imagine going down on that Asian asspounder! Getting fucked doggystyle in her lab, that thick scientist balls deep in you!
Yeah, I knew that entire previous paragraph was unrelated to the main theme of this post which is taking a critical look at how people view sex. This part is pretty much entirely unabashed porn, I want to include it so people can see that being sexual is natural. Also giving some NSFW artists the attention they deserve!
I shamelessly plug NSFW artists, a big one is InCase. I love utilizing his stuff because he has personality, he experiments, and he covers all forms of sexuality. Transwomen, cismen, ciswomen, traps, androgyny, and transmen can be found on his blog.
Look at all that! The body language, facial expression, and poses are all dripping with personality (and bodily fluids, but that's a given). His art style has even become iconic among NSFW artists.
Now that I've given the porn some love, I'm going to shift gears a bit and talk about the way sex is portrayed in non-pornographic media again.
In earlier times, sex was often vaguely implied or simply not portrayed at all. Around the turn of the 20th century, media as a whole began moving away from that notion and showing sex in another light. This started with the pulp detective writers in America, who thought that the genre was being divorced from the real world. Instead of having a chaste hero talking to pure innocent virgins of a timeless aristocracy, sex was shown as something that can motivate people and can be cherished and indulged in. We see this idea resurface in The Witcher 3 (yes I'm once again gushing over this game) which borrows the pulp detective formula. It's impossible to avoid sex in that game, from Geralt's interactions with his romantic interests Triss and Yennifer, to the prostitutes in the game the player can interact with, even the gay huntsman who's lynched out of his hometown for loving another man. But there is another, even more awesome way sex is being portrayed in new media: therapeutic.
Sex can be many things, including therapeutic (even if some people don't understand why).
I'm going to look at David Fincher's adaptation of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, one of my favorite movies. (Yes, adaptation- not remake. Fincher adapted the book out of respect for the original movies.) Fincher very tastefully covered sex in this movie, portraying how human it can be. Something that often irks me is LGBT characters in hollywood, because the strength of their characters almost always come from being LGBT. I'm glad this isn't the case in Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. Lisbeth Salander enjoys having sex with other women in the movie because it helps her forget about being abused by men like Bjurmen. Later, she gets intimate with Blomkvist because it not only helps her trust a man again, it also helps him relieve the stress and trauma he endures.
That last part especially is personal to me. For me, sex is therapeutic because I have endured things most people can't even imagine. To give you an example: When I was 12, my mother wanted to give me AD/HD medication. I said I didn't want to take it, stating that I thought I could control myself without it because I'm maturing. Her response was to hold a knife to my throat and force me to take the medication. It wasn't the first time she put my life in mortal peril, either. My childhood was fucking awful! When I wasn't being bullied relentlessly at school, I would have to deal with my horrible mother at home. What made it worse was knowing it was only a matter of time before my spiteful father would get back from work, start drinking, and then take his frustration out on me or my sister. When I'm having sex with someone I'm comfortable with and care about, it helps me cope with my anguish and endless rage. I remember I can feel something other than grief, which is why I cannot and will not stay quiet when I see someone perpetuating sex as being inherently negative.
Sex is arguably the most human aspect of humanity. If you affiliate sexuality with negativity, you are warped and need a healthier view of sex. If you hush the topic of casually discussing sex and masturbation, you need to take a moment and think about why. Sexuality is natural and beautiful, it's time we treated it that way.
*You don't need to tell me that Fifty Shades of Gray is poorly written. I am someone's master myself, I hate how Christian Gray is portrayed. The reason I stated it is because it is instantly recognizable to people who aren't involved in fetish communities. It's like how authors will state New York Times Bestseller before any other award because non-writers recognize it.
Did you like the NSFW artists in this post? Support them here!
Important!
Do you live in California? Prop 60 is a law trying to be passed requiring pornstars to wear condoms. What it doesn't tell you is that there's a thicket of vague laws in the bill that makes it easier to take porn makers to court. Learn more about it here. If you aren't registered to vote in California, you can do that here. Vote NO to Prop 60!
Edit: Prop 60 did NOT pass. Still, if you're in California, I highly implore you to click the second link there an register to vote. Get involved in your state and local elections, it's where the vast majority of political change happens.
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