Exhibitionism (the practice of revealing one’s self in a sexual manner as way of self expression) and voyeurism (active consumption of exhibitionism and exhibitionist material) has been in existence since only God knows when. There were the harems of medieval ages where women who didn’t want to marry and become sequestered to one man instead joined a commune of women. Then there were the courtesans of the middle ages, women who were allowed to publicly wield their sexuality and the ‘patrons’ who consumed this nudity. And of course the Peeping Toms of the Victorian Age, whose public puritanism was only rivaled by their secret perversions. In all these times, one thing remained constant, exhibitionism required a high price and was open to a few, as was voyeurism.

Technology and the Internet has democratized sex, as it has sexuality and fetishes. But nothing has thrived quite like digital exhibitionism and voyeurism centered around nudity. Sure there are the ‘brands’; adult sex workers and people in adjacent industries as well as celebrities and people in their adjacent industries who use exhibitionism and sexuality as a tool to market themselves to their audiences, but the exhibitionist market is well and truly dominated by teenagers and twenty something year olds with otherwise ordinary lives.

Platforms like Tumblr have helped normalize our appreciation of the naked form. The same way crowds would gather to get a glimpse of the supple marble breasts and micro-penises of Michaelangelo’s sculptures, we congregate at the most artistic 18+ blogs, marveling at how girls and boys we’d probably pass on the street without a second glance could contort their bodies and transform themselves for our likes, retweets and reblogs. It’s only natural that we would want to share these marvels on our own platforms so others can see what we see.

This is where things get a little tricky.

How do you navigate nudity you encountered on the Internet/a nude photo of someone who you don’t know personally, but feel compelled to share?

First, if you don’t know the person virtually or in person, and cannot confirm that the photo was put online with the subject (subject being the person photographed)’s express consent; please don’t share it. Even if the pictures are high resolution and look like they were shot professionally, it is no guarantee that the pictures weren’t shared without the subject’s consent. For context read up on the Reddit’s/4Chan’s The Fappening. 

Second, if you have confirmed that the nude photo you want to share online was actually consented to by the subject/shared by the subject themselves, you can share the photo with one caveat: you should ideally credit the photographer of the photo as well as the subject when you share their photo, using their names or social media handles. If you don’t know the photographer, at least tag the subject of the photo.

We ask that you do this for two reasons:

1. Tagging the subject of a nude photo where you share their picture on social media gives the people who consume the photo the option of engaging with the subject/photographer and engaging them. That at least forces you/and the people who follow you to see the subject of the nude photo as more than a sexual object, if they so choose they can find out about the person and who knows support their craft.
2. Tagging the subject of a nude photo when you share their picture allows them keep track of where their photo has traveled to  in the world, and in the event that they change their minds about having their nudity  ceon the Internet they can at least ask you to take the photo down. It also forces you to not be a shitty person, the kind that women/men ask to take down their pictures when you put it up because your social media presence is homophobic/misogynistic/racist.

That’s pretty much it kids, now go out and flourish with your kinks.