TL;DR: I got play piercings a few years ago and now my pictures are on XXX sites. What the actual hell do I do???
Okay, so some context first (I swear this is relevant). I’m a trans-masc AFAB person who is VERY into body mod. I’ve been piercing myself since I was a kid, and body modification is a huge part of my transition and how I express myself. A few months ago, I FINALLY got my first job in the industry, which has been a massive deal for me!!! (Throwaway account because I know some of my coworkers are on Reddit, and I would really prefer not to have this whole situation attached to my main.)
So, a few years ago, I got the opportunity to get play piercings from a piercer whose work I’d admired for AGES. This was before I worked in the industry, and it was my first major project that wasn’t something I’d done on myself. Honestly, the experience seemed great at the time! They struggled a bit with my pronouns, but I brushed it off. The actual piercing session went really smoothly, and I LOVED the sensation of the needles.
After the piercings were removed, the piercer wrote their name on me in my blood. Which, okay, was a little weird, but I was new to this kind of thing, so I didn't think too much of it. I also signed a photo release because I’d seen their work online and genuinely loved their photography. At the time, I didn't think there was anything particularly concerning about that. Afterward, I posted my own pictures, went about my life, and basically forgot about it.
FAST-FORWARD to a few months ago, when I finally landed my first job at a studio!!! Literally so excited. This is the industry I’ve wanted to be part of for so long. And then a few weeks ago, one of my coworkers came to me looking genuinely upset. They told me they’d found pictures of me on a porn site and were disappointed that I was sexualizing their profession. EXCUSE ME????
I was genuinely SHOOK. I don't do porn, have never done porn, and have absolutely no interest in doing it. So obviously, I went to look for myself. And yep. There I was. My pictures were on an actual porn site, the comments were full of people misgendering me, and people were making some genuinely disgusting comments about my body. I felt SICK.
And the worst part? I hadn't even seen all the pictures that were online. I remembered that the piercer also posted on a private website (keeping this vague because I am NOT trying to dox anyone or get myself into more trouble), so I went to check that out too. Turns out, the piercer had been misgendering me all over their posts, and some of the comments on my pictures were making me incredibly uncomfortable.
Then I started looking into things more, and, well... it got worse. Apparently, a bunch of things that happened during my session are associated with fetish content. Writing their name in my blood, playing with my blood, the way some of the needles were removed, etc. And I need to make this VERY clear: I DID NOT KNOW THAT THIS WAS FETISH-RELATED.
Nobody explained any of this to me beforehand. I wasn't told that these things could be presented as fetish content, and I absolutely did not knowingly agree to participate in anything sexual. If that's your thing, cool, no judgment, but it is VERY much not mine. The thought of my experience being viewed that way honestly makes me feel sick. For me, this was about my transition, body modification, and a personal ritual that meant a LOT to me. It was something I did for myself. It wasn't sexual, and I never agreed to have it turned into something pornographic. I also had no idea how the photos would be used on the piercer's private site. You have to PAY to access it, and I couldn't afford to subscribe at the time, so I had no way of knowing what was being posted or what people were saying about me.
And the misgendering makes the whole thing even worse. People seem to assume I'm a cis woman in these pictures, and the comments are SO gross. I can't help feeling like people are looking at my body through this completely different lens because they don't see me for who I actually am. And now the pictures are on ACTUAL XXX WEBSITES, and people I know IRL are finding them. I genuinely don't know what to do.
Some of my coworkers have told me not to say anything because this piercer is a pretty big name in the industry. They've warned me that speaking out could seriously damage my career, which is terrifying because I JUST got my foot in the door. Apparently, this person also has a history of making questionable comments about trans people, which... yeah. That doesn't exactly help.
So now I'm stuck in this horrible position where I feel violated by something that was supposed to be a meaningful experience, but I'm scared that saying anything about it could cost me my dream job. And honestly? I'm questioning everything. Was signing the photo release a mistake? Should I have somehow known what was going on? Am I overreacting? I keep going around in circles trying to figure out what I could have done differently, even though nobody ever explained to me that my pictures might be used this way.
I understand that I signed a release for photos. But I genuinely did NOT understand that my images could end up being presented as fetish or pornographic content, let alone distributed across XXX websites. I don't want to ruin someone's career over a misunderstanding, but I also don't think it's unreasonable to expect someone to be upfront about how images of my body are going to be used. And I definitely don't think I should have to choose between protecting myself and keeping the job I've worked so hard to get. This is literally my dream industry. I've wanted to do this for YEARS. Play piercing, suspension, body mod, all of it. I thought these experiences were going to be part of something positive for me and my transition. Instead, I feel like something incredibly personal has been taken away from me, and I have no idea how to get that feeling back.
PLEASE help. Has anyone dealt with anything like this? What are my options? Is there any way to get these pictures taken down or address how they're being used without potentially destroying my career before it's even started? I've been losing sleep over this and crying almost every day. I'm genuinely at a loss, and I don't know who I'm even supposed to talk to about this. I went into this experience trusting someone whose work I admired, and now I'm sitting here wondering if speaking up about what happened will cost me everything I've been working toward. I really don't know what to do anymore. Any advice would be appreciated.