I just want to share with the world I minor issue I've been having lately with deviantArt. When I switched my account to involve mature content (at around age 16) it was because I think there is inherent beauty in the naked body, and I didn't want to miss out on works of art that used that medium. But I'm growing pretty agitated with the amount of images I see that I frankly consider pornographic on this website. Is anyone else having this reaction? I understand that deviantart doesn't consider these images pornographic, but there isn't a way for me as a viewer to NOT see them, but to still see artistic and tasteful nudity.

In addition, I really, REALLY HATE that almost all of the pornographic images are idealizing incredibly skinny bodies as if that is something that is healthy and desirable for men and for women. I will be the first to agree that many women are naturally skinny - THAT DOESN'T MAKE IT HEALTHY. And in any case, a woman who is healthy and skinny is a good thing. But a woman who sees that, is told that is beautiful, and then achieves that through anorexia, bulemia, or just NOT EATING ENOUGH or worse, eating foods that are not helping them, that is a problem. For most women, I will venture to state that being that thin is INCREDIBLY dangerous. And in fact, many super models fit the body fat ratio of an anorexic person.

All I have to say is this: I am sick of women being exploited because of their bodies, I am sick of women feeling the need to match that image. In all honesty, if they're going to allow softcore pornographic images to be on this website (which is an art gallery. to be fair, this is an ART WEBSITE. I'm not saying that porn is not art, but what I am saying is that I'd go to a porn website for porn, not to an ART website. Just like you don't go to a porn website to see beautiful paintings of fully clothed people).
Anyway, if they're really going to allow softcore porn on this website, which I rather dislike, I have to say it makes me feel angry and disgusted that the images that make it onto the front page are all of skinny people. What about the (majority of) women who are beautiful without being skinny? What about most of the bodies in our world? Also, why is it WOMEN? Why isn't it men? Would a photograph of a man almost completely naked be as well received on this website? Would it be allowed, even? (I honestly don't know).

SO DEVIANTART USERS. I challenge you, in the name of all things beautiful, to create artistic representations of women AS WE ARE. Which is FRICKIN AWESOME AND BEAUTIFUL whether or not we are skinny.

ALSO I WILL POSIT that the pornographic images are self-perpetuating. I think they bring more people to deviantArt that are looking for those kinds of images, and that is why they are popular - I think people are finding them from OUTSIDE DEVIANTART and then signing up with DA to view MORE of those kinds of images. IS THAT THE KIND FO WEBSITE THIS IS WTF?? I used this since I was 13 years old, and I would honestly be EMBARRASSED to send anyone under 18 onto this site anymore!

If you're going to have a "mature" label, then maybe we should just stop putting artistic nudity into it? Because if I had a teenage daughter (or son for that matter) I'd want her or him to be able to look at the beauty of nudity without being bombarded with PORN.


That is my rant.