Queer Erotic Artists Are Being Erased. California Must Take a Stand.

As a queer erotic artist based in Los Angeles, I’ve spent nearly two decades creating work that celebrates sexuality, identity, and freedom of expression. My art isn’t just about eroticism…it’s about healing, history, and making space for queer truth. Despite this, erotic artists like myself are still excluded from public funding, denied a presence at queer events, and left unprotected by state and local policies as Republicans continue their attacks on the LGBTIA+ community.

This petition is about changing that.

Erotic art is core to queer culture. It’s part of our liberation history, our resistance, our pleasure, and our survival. Yet we are still treated as inappropriate or unsafe and pushed out of Pride events, left off grant lists, and denied the same protections that other artists receive. Too often, organizers and institutions sanitize queerness to make it more palatable to sponsors, erasing the sex-positive, body-liberating work that built these movements.

Pride without queer erotic artists is not real Pride. It’s performance without protection, and celebration without truth.

Around the country, Republican lawmakers are actively working to revive outdated obscenity laws, including the Comstock Act, a 150-year-old federal statute that bans the mailing of “obscene” materials. While it’s currently being used to attack abortion access, its broad language could easily be applied to queer and erotic art if we don’t take action. Erotic artists are on the frontlines of this cultural rollback, and unless we carve out specific protections, our work will continue to be targeted.

If enforced, this could criminalize the distribution of zines, prints, or even queer art books in the mail.

This petition demands that California continue to step up as a leader in cultural freedom and LGBTQIA+ equity. We’re calling for:

• Official recognition of erotic art as protected artistic expression under California law

• Inclusion of erotic artists in all publicly funded Pride and queer cultural events

• Creation of clearly marked, age-appropriate areas with security within events for erotic work

• State and local protections for erotic artists facing censorship, harassment, or exclusion

• Access to arts grants, public programming, and cultural commissions for erotic creators

• A public commitment to defend queer erotic art from legal, cultural, and political threats

Queer erotic artists deserve more than tolerance; we deserve protection, inclusion, and pride.

Sign the petition. Demand visibility. Defend our freedom to create.

Support at DICKSCOVERIES.com

MORE INFORMATION:

The Comstock Act (originally passed in 1873) is a federal anti-obscenity law that criminalizes the mailing or distribution of “obscene, lewd, lascivious, indecent, filthy or vile” materials including items related to contraception, abortion, and yes, erotic art (as broadly defined at the time).

What It Says (18 U.S. Code § 1461):

The Comstock Act makes it a federal crime to knowingly mail or ship:

“Every obscene, lewd, lascivious, indecent, filthy or vile article, matter, thing, device, or substance…”

That includes:

• Erotic images or illustrations

• Materials considered to “incite lust or lewd thoughts”

• Anything “designed, adapted, or intended for producing abortion” (this part is now being revived in current legal fights)

Punishment (Under Current Law):

• Up to 5 years in prison for a first offense

• Up to 10 years in prison for repeat offenses

• Fines may also apply, though the exact amounts can vary depending on charges

Why It’s Dangerous for Erotic Artists:

• The law is vague and outdated, with no clear definition of what counts as “obscene.”

• Its language could potentially be applied to:

• Erotic zines, prints, or comics mailed to buyers

• Digital transmissions depending on interpretation (though other laws would apply there too)

• Items sold at events or shipped through USPS

Though rarely enforced in modern times, conservative legal groups are attempting to revive and reinterpret it, which is why this moment is urgent for artists.