[Poll] Tell me your view on NSFW

[Kelheor]

Yeah, I mean, I don't really say it's a wrong option at all
Sometimes porn or gore can look funny instead of good, just because it wasn't done nicely.
But also sometimes you see something that's done well, but it's some little detail that interferes with the whole image in your brain, so it's still good, but also kinda not anymore? So yeah, if we choose between "I like something" vs "I don't like something", I will just choose the simple liking option

[sorible]

I don't speak for all aces or anyone but whenever I read or see a NSFW scene I have to go past it really fast or cover my eyes because I feel so uncomfortable like I'm interrupting something. ⁼̴̤̆ࡇ⁼̴̤̆

Other then that, I can cringe at violence and gore but generally it doesn't bother me too much. I stopped at Ep. 1 of Grey's Anatomy but was ok with most of Deadpool movies.

I just might be the only one who picks NO NSFW lol

[VibrantFox]

I voted "no nsfw,no adult stuff" but referring more specifically to each facet my limits for sexual nsfw is just mildly suggestive (i.e. the old school you see to people getting ready to bed and then there's some shot of ocean waves or something) but nothing specific or blatant mainly cause i a. don't care for it and b. prefer not to see it. Like smooching is fine but once things start to get too "hot n heavy" I just blank out regardless of the medium.

As for violence my tolerance is a little higher but if it's an all out gorefest or feels like its getting into torture/trauma porn then I've tapped out. Like the taken movie with liam neeson wasn't to bad for me but when it comes to some of the newer flicks i just can't get into anything past a pg-13 rating. it could be a more nuanced opinion but i think people have forgotten what "too much" or "not enough" means.

I don't speak for all aces or anyone but whenever I read or see a NSFW scene I have to go past it really fast or cover my eyes because I feel so uncomfortable like I'm interrupting something.

I feel this is the same for me! Like I'm sex repulsed so it tends to squick me out when i see it. If i can ignore or skip it then I will otherwise i've gotta just drop the whole thing

[djourner]

@sorible and @VibrantFox
No shame in having boundaries. ^^

Do forgive me if i'm being out line, but I was hoping to ask...

In my story I do have NSFW sexual moments, but usually I will flag them with HUGE letters in the title so the readers know it's comming, and I also make a point of not putting any story relevant details and let my readers know they can skip... The details I do share inside the NSFW bits, are purely relevant for other NSFW bits.
Do you find that appropriate? Or is the fact that the bit is there somehow sour the experience?

[sorible]

Personally I wouldn't mind if it had those kind of scenes in them since I would usually skim them anyway. It's super considerate of you to add a warning of that though! I'm sure that most people wouldn't care too much about the NSFW details that are important to the story.

I feel this is the same for me! Like I'm sex repulsed so it tends to squick me out when i see it. If i can ignore or skip it then I will otherwise i've gotta just drop the whole thing

Yess! It's so bad for me that I felt super uncomfortable in a PG video game where I got pregnant. There wasn't even much that happened, it was just a dialog box that asked, "Do you want a baby?"

[VibrantFox]

that to me sounds perfectly fine ^^

not to put any tapas creators/series on the spot but one comic i used to read was aviale and episodes that were marked for certain content i was able to easily pass over and still keep up with other plot relevant stuff. obviously there are folks who don't much care for warnings and have no concerns about the content behind them but for the rest of us it's definitely helpful

[LettieK]

This thread is so interesting! I am personally disappointed when a story doesn't have sexy stuff, but like how it is stated in the poll, I want it done WELL. I actually look for the little red [M] when I am browsing stories.

I'm happy to hear other people share their own perspective on the NSFW content, especially those who are averse to it- as I've never thought about that before. It's good insight for a creator.

[Toastbuster]

Shit, I meant to hit the ‘only if it’s done well’ option. Like I’m not sensitive to nsfw stuff at all but I don’t wanna read something that’s done poorly lol

Edit: Didn’t realize I could change my vote. Ignore me being an idiot lol

[UrMom]

As a fan of horror and the occasional porno, good and bad, I'm pretty chill with NSFW content. I also have a comic that focuses on mature themes, and shows occasional nudity and violence, so I would be a hypocrite if I weren't fine with it.

I agree that stories for adults have a lot of potential to be more than mindless porn, raunchy comedy, or mindless violence. You can touch on a much wider range of topics, have room for nuanced discussions, studies of character, tell a story that is more provocative or thought provoking. Although it's impossible, I sometimes wish there was a higher demand for adult fiction in the webcomic sphere, I feel like one of a tiny handful of people in this community who want to read and create stories for my age group. Doesn't help that more and more community sites like this, social media and other art related sites/apps are now pushing for censorship, discouraging creators from even considering mature content. This also perpetuates a negative view on anything mature and the few who delve into it.

Also when it comes to trashy messed up stuff, I generally don't mind, especially in indie works. There's nuance behind their decision when someone makes sexual assault porn, abuse stories, torture porn. Sometimes it is someone whose just gross, but other times the creators and consumers are victims or survivors of related traumatic experiences, and they use the controlled environment that is fiction/art to cope with and/or tackle their trauma. Which can actually be a good way to deal with those issues, and be used as a form of exposure therapy. Because of this I never judge a creator by the content the make, but purely by how they treat others and carry themselves as a person.

So yeah, I'm very much for NSFW/mature stuff.

[chestnutriceeee]

I personally think there is a 'done well' method to NSFW content. Many stories tend to add a lot of gore and sexual content in an attempt to make it seem more mature.

Violence and intercourse can both be very useful in a story to set your mood, develop the characters, and even worldbuilding.

A good example that comes to mind when talking about doing NSFW well is Dungeon Defense, it is heavily NSFW and that just makes the experience better.

[Legendofgenii]

If it’s part of the story, then that’s great. Threat, violence and romance can be a page turner if I care about the characters.

If that’s all the story is then I’ll probably get bored.

[LettieK]

I 100% agree with you about the abuse stories and such as a coping mechanism. Without getting too personal, the character in my story is going to go through some painful things, and it's not my intention to romanticize it, but to show the full scope of his experiences. I'm in control as the author, and it's a powerful outlet for me. I'm so glad someone understands this, and not just judge the content.

[MeltingCORE]

I personally am an adult and don't have an issue with it. It's fairly common for visual novels (which I'm a huge fan of) to have sexual content at least once per route (even the story-driven classics like Kanon) and it's never bothered me. I liken it to those fantasy romance novels that are so popular which have similar scenes. It's a part of the story and most of these series tend to have heavy romantic elements anyways. I do think if the content is super graphic, it needs to be sectioned off as 18+. I don't like the visual novels that are just nothing but adult content but eh. Just tag and sell it to the correct audience lol. Violence doesn't bother me either. Higurashi is one of my faves and as a teen I was obsessed with edgy movies like Saw. But once again, if it's extremely graphic it needs to be rated properly. Other than that, it's fiction - go wild lol!

And yes, sometimes a story is dark because the creator is using it as a way to work through their personal pain. I can say that about my series. That it's got my life refracted through a sci-fi lens in bits and pieces. It features subjects like abuse, mental health issues, biological corruption, collapsing government, etc not because I'm an edgelord but because it means something to me. (On the kinder side, I do have an adult scene coming up in my series later and am trying to figure out how much to censor for the Tapas edition. Need to do more research.)

[Freemints30]

I would be a hypocrite to be like. "nah don't show this"

Trashy violence has its place, good well done violence has its place.

Trashy sexual content has its place, well done sexual content has its place.

Its not a tool showcasing immaturity, that's ironically an immature way of seeing art. Its just a tool to attract the audience you want or show case an idea you want.

Do everything you want brothers, sisters and everyone

[SleepingPoppy]

I'm generally open minded to NSFW content, but generally prefer an interesting story with well integrated sex and violence. I'm also sensitive to some specific things with gore, because it can trip my gag reflex (more of a tv/movie problem thus far) which is obviously unpleasant. I'm also just picky about what I personally like and want to read.

I air on the side of being open minded about mature content, but also think it's good to have on going discussions about how we represent things. As long as we keep talking about it, creators are fed good food for thought. They make their own decision about whats appropriate, but they might consider things they previously hadn't. =)

I sometimes wish there was a higher demand for adult fiction in the webcomic sphere, I feel like one of a tiny handful of people in this community who want to read and create stories for my age group. Doesn't help that more and more community sites like this, social media and other art related sites/apps are now pushing for censorship, discouraging creators from even considering mature content.

Echoing this 100%. It baffles me that Apple/companies are so unwilling to create a space for adult/mature content. Or how unevenly the lines for content is drawn, when obviously HBO and Netflix have oodles of live physical actors simulating things that Apple would not even allow censored in a drawing. I am aggressively baffled.

[Kura]

Clicked the wrong one and now I look like a prude that not only hates sex but thinks it's only for horney teens???? (what the fuk kind of option is that?????)

I wanted to pick 'I can enjoy bot but only if it's well done' which is well... obvious for most anything when it comes to writing?? Not many people enjoy read bad writing unless it's ironically, and you don't want to be an author that people think is trash but will read the work of ironically.

[Llyrel]

I'm fine with both. I mean, I'm not a fan of certain types of heavy gore -looking at you, Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning- and I have little to no interest in straight up porn, buuuuut... I'm certainly not gonna hate on people who create it: if I don't like it, there's always the X button on top of the window (or the report button, in the case of illegal stuff).

[GumshoeComix]

Well in terms of my comic, it has to be well done and the writing has to be handled with care or else its not just crossing the lines of over-the-top edgy, but I might get in trouble so I can't show too much.
As for personal art (that I never finish), violence is wayyy funner for me to draw than porn, not that I have an issue with NSFW but I just feel insecure every time I draw it cause the anatomy is off and someone's leg or arm looks weird. I have so much respect for people who can draw that shit without getting frustrated at the poses.
but gore? now that's where its at!

[nathanKmcwilliams]

I'm a no on the sexy stuff. I'm all for action violence and cool fight scenes though. Even some gore is okay as long as it doesn't go into torture or body horror.

For the no sexy stuff reasons there's a few things that are behind that. One being my Christian beliefs and the other being that my wife of 11 years wouldn't be okay with me either writing or drawing it, or reading it all the time.
(And also it's not essential to tell a good story. ) Now if a story has some romance in there and the romantic actions aren't hardcore porn levels it's not enough to make me drop it, but I will skip over it real quick. If it becomes a regular part of the story I'll drop it though.

[Scarlet_Cryptid]

I can handle very sexually explicit scenes better than I handle a lot of enthusiastically rendered gore, but I don't object to a mild-to-moderate amount of either in my stories. I'm unlikely to draw either into the comic I post here in any meaningful amount, but... I mean... I've got a medieval fantasy setting where people get into fights with other people. With swords. That gets messy. I can't promise there won't be blood.

And while my story isn't a romance or a straight up erotic story, there will be characters in romantic relationships. I'm not going to be drawing any sexually explicit scenes (...thought that might be fun for like a Patreon reward or something someday...), but Fade-to-Black style implications are totally on the table.