Is writing a comic based around very triggering content allowed to be posted?

[lynndotcom01]

so i have this story about four (under 18) girls who are all victim to rape and grooming from an idol that they looked up to. the story is mainly supposed to be about how it impacted their lives.

the story deals with a LOT of triggering content, mainly being rape. it also deals with domestic abuse, self harm, and eating disorders. none of it is to be displayed being done explicitly, but it is to be implied in many situations. if any, the only thing that might be showed to happen is a few instances of domestic violence.

the story is intended to be for seeing how an idol can easily manipulate young girls to fulfill his needs using his status.

the main thing i'm worried about is how old the girls are. the oldest girl is 16, but she was first exposed to the culprit at age 10. another of the girls is 10 as well, and a third is 12. these are already incredibly young characters, but the youngest of the four is only 6. she does not ever, implied or not, recieve any direct physical, mental, or emotional manipulation or abuse. despite this, though, the majority of her relation to the comic is as the culprit's next target, and her being protected by her mother (the 16 year old).

i am very skeptical about if this would be allowed to be posted here. i've read a few other posts about triggering content, and i've read the guidelines, but i am still not at all sure how much of this story would be allowed to be posted (as a comic).

how much would i have to ditch or change if i were to post this, or is it even allowed at all?

[Freemints30]

I believe it would be fine as long as nothing graphic is shown. I read a story on webtoons that involved a kid being groomed by a pedophile and his older brother beating the guy up. Nothing graphic was shown. If that can be posted on webtoon then it can can be posted on tapas. Really I believe you would be fine. just remember to mark the pages as mature.

[UrMom]

Well, my comic has a lot of sensitive content (self-harm, abuse, discussion of suicide, queerphobia, body horror, trauma, etc.) and uncensored full frontal nudity, and it's still allowed on the site so I don't see why you can't post yours. I would say you can post pretty much anything as long as it's not pornographic or blatantly discriminatory. For the former, despite these characters not being real children, I don't know how far you can go with child characters when it comes to nudity or non-explicit sexual content. I did stumble across a comic once on here where the author was open about it being shota, but I'm not sure if the staff were alright with that or just didn't see it.

So posting your story with heavy content should be a-okay, but it would be best stick with keeping the sexual assault heavily censored or implied given the character's ages.

[joannekwan]

Heavy stuff is allowed so long as anything illegal (particularly the pedophilia as applied to your story) is only mentioned.

Tapas allows non-graphic depictions of sex involving adults (consensual or otherwise), and censored depictions of sex (tho it'll get your work hidden on the app, but it's still accessible to subscribers already following it). Context matters of course, so long as it serves some purpose in the story and isn't just meant for shock and awe. BUT I believe they draw the line at depictions of illegal activity like pedophilia and bestiality. So just a mention of it in dialogue would be your safest best.

And of course, be sure to put any censored or heavily implied sexual situations under the mature tag, and include appropriate content warnings in your series description or at the top of applicable episodes.

[MoiOBRA]

Mine was about child sexual abuse inside cults. I didn't show it, naturally, but the idea is there. Subtle, not so subtle, clues that it happened.

You can check it here:

Cognitive Dissonance (B)

[M.ComicFan]

I'd say be careful in terms of what you show in the comic, and if you do post it, make sure it's put as mature content.

[bear1]

I think as long as it doesn’t fetishizes, romanticizes or downplays/pokes fun of the issue, it should be fine.
I would be careful with the graphic display tho, because it could be seen as pornographic, which is a huge yikes (especially since your characters are under age).
Probably better to leave that out all together and just hint to it or use symbolism (like a lot of artists use bugs grawling over someone in order to symbolize rape or the trauma coming from it.)

Also, I would slap a trigger warning on the comic and each chapter.
I think a story like this should not be a taboo. Especially since sexual abuse and grooming is not uncommon in the entertainment industry.
But it’s good to keep those Users in mind who can’t stomach such a serious and dark issue and to make sure that they know that your comic is not suitable for them.

[Aims]

I think as long as you approach the theme respectfully, mark it as mature (and put a content warning just to be sure), not show anything too graphic (sometimes a silhouette reflected in an eye is enough for the reader to know what's happening) you should be fine.