I make a living drawing NSFW and SFW art and I love what I do, but the paranoia of other people finding out is exhausting.

I am a full-time freelance digital artist. Honestly, I really enjoy drawing in general, and being able to make good money doing what I love is incredible. I use a pseudonym, separate accounts, and a clean public portfolio, so my digital security is solid.

I used to be much more open about my work. I used to share my art and adult-art updates with my friends, and they were honestly very supportive. But nowadays, I try not to bring it up anymore. I’ve become so incredibly self-conscious about it.

Lately, I’ve started to feel a creeping sense of shame about drawing NSFW art. I constantly worry that if people find out, they will view me as someone "perverted." I mean, I do enjoy adult content when I'm bored or need to blow off steam, but it feels like a deeply personal attack when I imagine someone calling me "perverted" in a derogatory way. It feels like they are reducing my entire identity and hard-earned skill down to a negative label.

I just needed to get this off my chest because carrying this double life completely alone is draining. I wanted to know: how do you deal with this kind of situation? How do you separate societal judgment from your own self-worth as a creator?

(also, will be deleting this within 3 days)