Follow the gimps, artists and erotic creators pushing the boundaries of sexual expression on the notoriously prudish platform
It’s well-known that Instagram is a precarious place for the erotic. And if you’re part of the kink, fetish, BDSM or sex work community, it’s permanently haunted by the feeling of erasure and loss. Creators, artists, queer educators and even well-respected institutions (including Leather and Archives Museum in Chicago or UK Leather and Fetish Archive) systematically get deleted by Meta all the time. Yet, for the sake of visual art, knowledge, or horniness, kink on the platform still perseveres. While there are of course websites that focus on adult content, Instagram remains instrumental in putting these images and stories in the context of broader visual culture, even they are sometimes shadowbanned.
Fetishism, kink, and LGBTQ+ leather movements have been a powerful undercurrent of culture for decades. Today, latex, leather and vac beds are in vogue as ever, as seen in shoots starring Julia Fox and on the Balenciaga catwalks. Yet there is no aesthetic without those who live and breathe the lifestyle but who rarely get the credit – the self-described proud perverts, underground artists, leather folk and sex workers. It’s infinitely hard to pick just ten accounts to follow (and you should definitely check out the work of Jonny Kaye and Alex Kacha who were recently interviewed by Dazed) – but these might offer a bit of inspiration on your early journey into gimp-land.
VEX ASHLEY
Vex Ashley is a director, sex worker, and founder of the independent porn company Four Chambers. Over the years, she has produced complex and immersive creative work focusing on fetishes that are widely regarded as taboo – including mommy kink, blood play and religious iconography. This is a great place to follow her creative process, alongside her truly mesmerising self-portraits.
RUBBERDEI
The global community of latex fetishists is endlessly vibrant – but some take the transformative power of the material to the next level, like Columbia-based RubberDei. Latex mermaid? Genderqueer latex doll? Inflatable latex demon? Skilled in crafting their own outfits, they’ve got it all.
BART SENG WEN LONG
If you’re looking to explore the complexity of modern sexuality through contemporary art, no one does it better than Bart Seng Wen Long. Born and raised in Singapore and based in London, the artist, writer and curator has crafted an elaborate and at times uncanny universe populated by rubber gimps, flirty cat boys and AI-generated mommy dommes. Delving into the nature of intimacy and online subcultures, he unpacks what makes us tick in the strange times we’re living in.
LANEE BIRD
Drawing inspiration from the classics of fetish and fashion photography, LA-based Lanee Bird applies queer gaze to razor-sharp stiletto heels, latex gloves and power exchange on camera. A self proclaimed voyeur and pervert, she uses her camera to distort the aesthetics of the erotic. She creates imagery influenced from an amalgamation of 80s and 90s underground subculture, music and art history references.
DAEMONUM X
Daemonum X is one of the most incredible voices in today’s leatherdyke culture (check out her Substack for further reading), and a rope top and BDSM educator. Bonus points if you’re horny for blood or DIY church renovation hacks. She also put together FIST zine, an independent publication featuring leatherdyke writing from the community (available here).
THE LONDON VAGABOND
Self-described lovers and fetishists, duo The London Vagabond are deeply dedicated to documenting deviant sexuality in all its wild expressions. Gritty and analogue, the full glory of their work doesn’t make it onto Instagram, but it’s a good place to keep track of when their latest NSFW zines are coming out – and for an introduction to all the incredible characters in front of their lens.
EVA OH
Eva Oh, also known as Mistress Eva, is an award-winning dominatrix, who regularly speaks out to promote the destigmatisation of BDSM culture and sex work. Here you can find a lot of leather, latex, and journeys far and wide – but most importantly an archive of insightful and earnest Q&As delving deep into fetish, domination and power exchange.
NO NOTHING INC
No Nothing takes fetish imagery to the visual extremes fit for our digitalised culture: imagine an oily, horny world augmented with a bit of CGI. Taking photography and video as a departure point, he creates a fictionalised universe where excess rules supreme.
CAIN
Cain is an adult content creator, performer and sex worker of the year 2023, according to the Sexual Freedom Awards. Between candid 35mm diaries depicting London’s queer scene and SFW outtakes from his shoots, he highlights creativity in erotic exploration.
BOUND LEATHER ZINE
Photographer Steven Harwick started Bound Leather Zine in 2017. Originally driven by his leather fetish, the project – encompassing zines, books, installations and merch – has become a fascinating archive of queer leather communities today. This is where you head to see modern leather daddies and babies of all walks of life.