In light of this post, I think it’s time to discuss some very serious issues concerning dark content as well as what it can be a byproduct of.
Trigger Warnings: mentions of p*dophilia, EDs, SH, s*icide, mental illness. Read at your own risk and with an open mind.
TL;DR: Dark Content should not be cut up into more digestible pieces or used as morality fodder. People partake in DC for different reasons. Tag fiction appropriately, block and curate your own online experience. Stop using inflammatory verbiage to rally your attack against someone when there are real life consequences to the words that you use.
In the original post, dark content is described as “a fantastic tool for exploring taboos and emotions or experiences that aren’t often talked about openly” and that it “creates what is essentially a safe space for exploring things that are not typically done or seen in the real world, with the knowledge that writing or engaging with it does not necessarily mean condoning it”.
From this excerpt, OP understands the use, consumption, and creation of dark content and then blatantly accuses their target of being a p*dophile. “He is a p*dophile.” is one of the several direct quotes. I don’t understand how someone could post all of this “evidence” followed by that paragraph. This contradicts their sensationalized and polarizing arguments, but offers a way for the reader to compartmentalize the topics of DC into “good” and “bad”.
When speaking about dark content, especially with accusations as serious as these, language matters. And the language used in this post (pedophile, CP, groomer) is at best egregious and at worst intentional.
Let me be clear, works of fiction are not CP/CSAM. Calling works of fiction CP misconstrues the meaning of the term. One is a drawing, and one is a crime innacted on a child. Viewing this kind of artwork would be incredibly triggering for me, and if something like this came across my dash I would recoil and block the poster immediately. But there is not a child being abused here, and conflating the two is a dangerous game.
This is a good time to bring up a disorder that not many know about or are comfortable talking about. Does the accused creator suffer from it? I can’t say. But in a discussion like this, it’s worth mentioning to prove that not everybody with these thoughts is actually a predator.
POCD (p*dophilic obsessive-compulsive disorder) is defined as “a form of OCD involving an obsessive fear of being or becoming a pedophile. This type of OCD combines several common types of compulsions, including the fear of: acting violently against vulnerable people (harm OCD), being attracted to an inappropriate or wrong type of person (sexual orientation OCD or relationship OCD), breaking society’s moral codes (moral scrupulosity)” (Psych Central)
This isn’t something commonly talked about for obvious reasons. As someone who lives with POCD, let me start off by saying it is disturbing for us. It is gut-wrenching. Most of all, it is frightening.
You can read about it in articles, I’m sure, but I also want to give a firsthand look at what it can be like, just a tiny look into the cycle of thoughts one might have.
“You wanna fuck that kid.”
“Ew fuck what is wrong with you?”
“What would happen if you just went in there and touched his penis?”
“Oh god what if I actually do that?”
“I’m an awful person! Only an awful person would have that thought.”
“But I don’t actually want to do it. I would never.”
“But what if you did, though?”
“You should probably never leave your house again. Never be around kids. Just in case you touch them.”
“I don’t want to touch them, though!”
“But you had the thought, so you probably do on some level.”
And so on and so forth. This kind of thinking often leads to agoraphobia, s*icidal ideation, and/or attempted/completed s*icude.
Fictional characters are fictional characters. In this case they are literal lines on a screen or page. Nobody is getting hurt here, but someone could be coping with a condition. Someone could be reclaiming themselves and their own trauma. Someone could have been finding a safe place for themselves only for it to be ripped away.
Should topics that involve sexualizing minors be discussed between adults and minors? Not in a way that’s anything less than informative (telling them to know what to look for, etc.). Sharing creative works with one another could potentially fall under the ‘grooming’ category. But simply being friends with a minor does not mean you want to have sex with or hurt them. And finding a single example of someone having a minor in their following list is not indicative of a pattern of behavior.
Even if you have the fleeting, intrusive thought, doesn’t mean you want to take advantage of them. That is important for me to remind myself of every day, and is important for everyone else to hear too.
Do you know what the worst thing you can say to someone who has POCD? “You’re a p*dophile.” That would send me spiraling even further than I already do. Because the condition itself is a spiral—of self-loathing and disgust and helplessness. Why do I have these thoughts? Am I actually a bad person?
No. Because I know I would never act on any of it. I do what I can to remind myself that these thoughts are not actually who I am. But if someone or many someones came to me and told me relentlessly that I was a horrible monster, there would be doubt and depression and anger.
Let’s put it in slightly different terms that might be easier to understand; most people have had dreams or intrusive thoughts about having sex with a parent or sibling. It’s not something we actually want to act on, and we’re disturbed by the idea. That said, there is plenty of dark content on this website and others involving parental and sibling inc*st.
While I understand why one is more acceptable to depict between fictional characters, neither are acceptable in real life. They are both seen as taboo (and for good reason). However, neither are unsafe when it comes to fanart/fan fiction most of the time.
Can this sometimes be a predecessor to assault? Sure, but that’s usually not the case. Typically, if a creative outlet/fantasy progresses to something more serious, there are other troubling habits and behaviors that go along with it.
This post is not so much to defend the user mentioned in the original call-out post as much as it is to educate everyone on a very delicate subject. People want to say it’s entirely black and white when it isn’t. We all know assaulting a child—assaulting anyone—in any way is wrong. But this is fiction. This is not real. Nobody has been hurt, and nobody can say with 100% confidence that someone will end up physically harmed by this individual.
I understand wanting to warn people about predatory behavior, but an entire call-out post? These online spaces could have been the only outlet they had, a way to express themselves and work on their trauma. Instead they have been shamed over and over in the comments.
We don’t know everything this user has gone through. We don’t know what they’re projecting onto these—once again—fictional characters.
I assume the post was likely coming from a good place and not made simply to incite drama. But reading it and all the comments is so incredibly disheartening. Subjects like this result in knee-jerk reactions. Your instinct is to condemn, but have you thought further into the issue? Have you thought about the ‘why’? Have you thought about the kids in the world who aren’t getting hurt and exploited because there are resources to help people with these behaviors? Fanfiction and art can be one of those resources.
Or it could have been. Everyone is so worried about policing other people’s content that nowhere is safe anymore.
Bringing up the topics of sexualizing ED or SH within this post is quite frankly insane to me. But it is also concerning to me that the line between “good” and “bad” DC is blurring even further. As long as it is tagged appropriately (which every example of DC from the targeted blog has) who is to tell anyone that they cannot write/engage/view content about topics so profoundly personal? Having an ED, a history of SH, or any other mental health crisis is something that so many people hide. You’ve taken a person’s potential coping mechanisms and turned them into a morality debate.
Who cares if someone is writing/reading about SH or ED? Why does it matter to *you* if they are consuming this type of fiction? This same sentiment can be extended upwards as well, but pointing out someone’s interest in a topic you might not like after accusing them of p*dophilia? This accusation appears to be extending past “informative” and is veering into a personal attack.
I have been struggling with the intent vs impact of this post. The cynical part of me worries that this post is intended to attack, even if OP claims the opposite. Ultimately, intent matters less than impact. The impact of this is disastrous for one person accused, and another person OP dragged into the conversation by name for no reason other than that they were friends. The impact will reverberate far past two individuals, as I am sure OP is aware, and the idea of DC content as a moral failing will continue. It is not a moral failing, and, to quote OPs own words once again, “creates what is essentially a safe space for exploring things that are not typically done or seen in the real world, with the knowledge that writing or engaging with it does not necessarily mean condoning it.”
hi everyone (ෆ ͒•∘̬• ͒)◞ hope all is well. i have a few ideas bouncing around but can’t focus on any atm between work and other hobbies but just so ya know i’m thinkin!!!
