Ever found yourself being asked by a sexual partner what your biggest fantasy is, only to realise that, actually, you don’t want to act it out?
You’re not alone. For many people, sexual fantasies remain just that: fantasies.
Exploring why this might be, David Wahl, a social psychologist and sex researcher, explained: “In the mind, you control the fantasy. You have the final say in what happens, how, where, when, and with whom. You construct the fantasy in such a way that the scenario is perfect for you. There are no such guarantees in the real world.”
For those who want to explore their fantasies further but don’t want to act upon them, it turns out there is another lesser-known option available. What if you could go to an artist and commission an illustration of your kink?
For Rebecca, also known as Gaptoothbaby, this is just another day at the office. The 30-year-old artist from London has built up a dedicated fanbase both on Instagram and sex-positive platform Sensuali.
While Rebecca is a multi-disciplinary artist, she tends to focus on kink and BDSM and revealed to HuffPost UK that demand for her genre has never been higher.
Illustrator makes thousands a month bringing people’s sexual fantasies to life
Rebecca thrives on creating art that has humour such as “Girl Dinner” (pictured above) and tackles taboos such as female body hair and even feet.
She said: “I just got hooked on making boundary-pushing art and seeing what people’s reactions were. I really enjoyed challenging people who perceived kink as ‘taboo’.
“Many kinks are very natural, and yet people can be disgusted by them. But those disgusted responses are always what drive me to keep doing more.”
As much as Rebecca has fun and gets to explore sexuality through the means of her art, she also hopes to challenge people on their own definitions of sex and kink.
She said: “I want my kink illustration to at least provoke people to question what sex actually is, and perhaps make them realise that it doesn’t always have to be penis-in-vagina sex.”
She added: “There’s a million different ways to explore desire and all of that falls under the bracket of sex, and that’s surely so exciting?!”
Not only is the artist bringing people’s deepest desires to life, she’s also earning thousands every month doing so and her loved ones are “incredibly supportive” – with her mum even displaying some of her art at home.
Considering only 52% of men and 47% of women are willing to discuss their fantasies with a partner, perhaps an illustration could be a stepping stone for couples to explore their fantasies more?