Jonathan Vair Duncan  🗡️ 🦁 🌞

For these topics, I open up by saying I'm usually the most f'd up person in the room. This isn't humble-bragging for asspats—this is from someone whose past could, sadly, empathize firsthand w/those people with tastes that make your skin crawl.

People who enjoy creating/sharing destructive elements in art often claim that it's "not hurting anyone". That has truth, and yet… Some abusers love your art and fantasize w/it. Are you just a drop in their ocean, or are you more accountable to some greater negativity?

Fantastical images normally carry nuance: From a previous poll I ran, the majority of fans/artists of Candy Gore had no IRL exposure or interest in violence. Some even used it to reclaim physical trauma from their pasts to _heal_. There's always a story worth learning, IMO.

Venting emotions is valid and important, and yet some artists (H.R. Giger comes to mind) vent until they die, seemingly never finding healing. I don't want more artists to go down that path, and i think of that every time I see vent art or extremely dark/negative themes in art.

There are certain themes that may disgust you, that you think should be banned outright, that CAN be used for trauma recovery. Whether or not it should be public is another story, but you shouldn't soapbox your opinions before trying to first understand what's going on.

Most of us agree that condoning rape, murder, & racism is bad, in and out of art. But what about all the art that makes negativity look sexy? Thousands unfollowed a popular artist for drawing cub, but were they mad when the artist was making drug abuse look sexy and cool?

Aside: Most reading this are USA. We were raised w/ideals of rugged individualism. USA's legacy and pop cultures are full of violence & assorted disassociations. I get WHY violence isn't as hot-button as other topics. Just question your own cultural narrative running in the BG.

You're against bestiality, right? Good to hear. So…do you take commissions w/zoo themes? Oh, you do, but it's just fantasy and not hurting anyone? Hmm, earlier we mentioned that fetish art isn't 1:1 reality (shoutouts to the vore fans reading), so that makes sense. And yet…

How would it feel to see your fantastical porn in the faves of known animal abusers? Or to see your art in a group dedicated to actual zoo fans? I'm sorry, but you just helped someone fap to that thing you're against. You're several literal drops in their bucket of deviancy.

Let's take this further: You hate zoophilia. You get a commission request from someone w/animal bits on their dog anthro. You check their faves and you see lots of zoo' pics, but the commission is just a 'sona pinup. Is taking that commission supporting zoo', somehow?

OFC, not everyone into animal bits on anthro are abusers. Some people just like Bad Dragon. But my personal stance is that I will not draw non-human genitalia unless we sit down and talk about why that interest is there. And I decline if I don't like what I hear.

You'll hear this from Uncle Kage when he's damage-controlling anti-furry sentiments in the press: Furries are rarely ever into zoo, but zoos get into furry in the same way that a necrophile may want to pursue mortuary sciences. He's right. I think of that quote often.

So, artists, is ignoring that animal bit correlation justifiable next time this comes up? Do you owe it to yourself to do a background check on animal bits? For ME, I must check every time. And w/my rep, thankfully, I get very few requests for that design trait.

You may find this hard to believe, but I have to do a background check on every single commission that I deem as sexually overt / pornographic. As a recovering sex addict, if I didn't do that, I'd be such a hypocrite. That's how broken my life was from my addiction.

Despite my brokenness, I have the humility to acknowledge my own dumb brain and choices don't represent all others. This is how I know for a fact that porn isn't objectively evil, that it can even be used for healing purposes.

If you look into the ABDL scene, you'll find a lot of consenting adults doing something about their difficult, stressed lives. That overlaps often w/babyfurs I've met. But if you draw/share cub, expect your pics WILL be bedfellows w/an abusive minority, despite your intention.

Say it's just fantasy, like art that was ageplay between you and your consenting adult partner—I can't police that. But I don't see how it's worth it to take that contained element and share it w/the public. The cost-benefit seems off to me, to share that fantasy w/o context.

I think it's worth it to share your true self with others, especially if you're a survivor. (Can't imagine zoo' applying here, FTR.) If your content is SUPER alt/extreme and you DON'T support abuse, you'd better damn well include some footnotes on your online platforms.

If I ever do this as a lecture, it won't be to gatekeep or wash out XXX alt stuff. It WILL be to stress the importance of all artists and social media users to consider the consequences of their actions. Especially if you have a big following.

If you are a fetish artist, esp. an extreme fetish, asking your client "Why do you like this?" will probably be the first time that person has ever questioned their intentions. I've seen that question change peoples lives. It's worth asking if it stops an evil seed from growing.