How do you feel about the general public being aware of our community?

[Guest]

I would guess it’s safe to say not many people know sneezing fetishes are a thing, or at least it’s not talked about in the media as much as others (which is another reason I’m scared to talk about it bc it’s so obscure). But there have been some occasions in the past where it has been brought to the attention of many people usually on social media somewhere—like this video by Pewdiepie, this post on tumblr, or this interview by Tosh.0. 

Honestly I find it kinda embarrassing as to be expected, or just cringe if nonfetishists try to make jokes about it/participate in it as well for views or whatever. Idk I just don’t like people knowing about it because most of their first reactions are wtf

[NoV]

It always gets me a little when there is a big reveal of our fetish from a popular corner of the internet. Once you have been here for a while, you kind of learn to weather the storm and move on. A few of us (myself included) have been called out personally by internet 'celebrities' for a laugh, but you know what - interest soon wains and the world keeps turning. 

Stick with the forum - we're all here with this crazy fetish and in this together  

[SleepingPhlox]

OOF the immaturity on that tumblr thing.  The way the people in the comments are behaving is super cringe, and I could not give a flying fig what they think of our fetish, because a lot of them don't seem like the sharpest crayons in the box.  I'm happy with our fetish being a little bit more obscure to not have to deal with such childishness...but on the other hand, if it were more well known like a foot fetish, maybe people wouldn't be so damn dramatic about it when they hear of it.  "I'm traaaauuuumatised now that I know this"...shut up, no you aren't.  

[SneezeFae]

I don’t necessarily mind it. The thing that I mind is when people start acting cringey about it. There’s a reason why I don’t watch Sneezetok on TikTok or look at comments on Tumblr. So many people are so cringey with what they say about us that it puts me back into the mindset of being “ashamed” or “embarrassed” with my fetish. I just go and mind my business and mainly post all of my sneeze related content on here where it’s positive and no one will persist on shaming others. 

[webmeistro]

There are a zillion tiny communities on the internet, most of them weirder than this. Whenever this site is thrust into the spotlight, people go "eh that's weird" for a day or two then move on to the next thing.

[Lacrima]

I've felt very embarrassed before, especially in the past. When Pewdiepie's video was released, he put forward some super embarrassing youtube video comments. People of course laughed and they were kind of right, given the creepy comments. Except they generalized as if we were all the same.

I remember feeling ashamed. Now I just don't care at all. I am who I am and there's nothing wrong with that, I don't care what other people think about me, especially on this subject. As others have said, people laugh because not many people have heard of the fetish, otherwise they wouldn't give a damnt about it, I think.

[just-a-harmless-snz]

Maybe it's the fact that these people can't relate to us being attracted to sneezes... I most definetely do not have a foot fetish and I thus could not really relate to a person being attracted to feet. I don't want to be as immature as the people in that tumblr comment section so I don't comment on people's fetishes and I honestly do not really mind them. However, I am glad to have found this little corner of the internet with nice, like-minded people ❤️

[guy that does things]

i dont really blame people for being weirded out, honestly, but yeah i would probably prefer secrecy

[SexualOddity]

It used to bother me, but now I don’t really care.  I think I’ve become more accepting of my fetish (in no small part because of the forum) so I think I’m a little harder to embarrass now.  Ultimately, my attitude is that we’re not posting for people who don’t have the fetish, so they probably shouldn’t be suprised if they don’t get it.  If they really feel the need to point and laugh then have at it, I guess.  But that’s more a reflection on them than it is on us.

[solitaire-au]

People fear or deride what they don’t understand.

Since its inception, privacy on the Internet is largely a myth we tell ourselves, or that corporations assure us we have.

One of the most important things we can do is to not use our real name, or our pictures of our faces, or specific identifying information like workplace, school etc.

When I teach my kids about what can go wrong on the Internet, I use the example of Ghislain Raza, the Star Wars Kid.

He didn’t do anything wrong, but he lost control of what happened to the footage. What should have been a minor incident that quickly died down went out of control. And this was in the old days prior to YouTube when sharing was via email, FTP and personal blogs. It’s so much worse today. Each person in the chain contributed to making it bigger and more viral, even the people who thought they were helping him. (Like the people who fundraiser for him, or petitioned George Lucas to give him a spot as an extra on the Star Wars prequels. It didn’t work.)

Vloggers like Pewdiepie get more clicks by ridiculing others. But it’s kind of ironic and ludicrous that he (and others like him) think that all use of their content, like compilations that others make of him, is somehow objectionable because someone out there finds it exciting in a way he doesn’t understand, or doesn’t like. That’s sadly the risk he takes, and that we all take.

Not that I approve of sharks, mind you! But even when I remember that internet access was extremely rare outside university campuses, and you had to do the mandatory training BEFORE being allowed to access ANYTHING, inappropriate behaviour still occurred.

To go back to Raza, he went to uni, studied law, and in a documentary about where he’s at 20 years later, he talked to students at his old school about what happened and the concept of a digital shadow and how we all have one. He said his digital shadow was larger than most people’s but it was separate from who he is abs he tries not to let it control him or rule his life.

For the curious it’s called Star Wars Kid: Rise of the Digital Shadows. It looks like the whole film may only be viewable in Canada, so I’ve only seen a short clip.

So I guess my take is, be aware you have a digital shadow, be careful what you share especially wrt identifiable details, and be aware you no longer have complete control once you do more than lurk (and even then, there’s a small risk.)

 

[Heathcliff]

The comments on Tumblr are great:

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Welp after 1 minute of research the first fandom with it to pop up on ao3 was Jurassic Park. But Undertale was the most prevalent.

Dude, where the hell were you looking? I've never seen a Jurassic Park sneezefic in over 20 years of internet use.

Quote

that's why I don't blindly read things without cheching the tags. Thanks for the remunder.

And please also remund me to chech the spelling while you're at it.

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My first thought was of the book "Kissing the Corona Virus" by M. J. Edwards.

I Googled this - it is an actual erotic novel about a woman having a lusty affair with a personification of the coronavirus. Yes, really.

I can't paste any of it here because this isn't the Adult Board, but go and have a look - trust me, it's funny.

[Guest]

On 7/19/2023 at 3:50 PM, NoV said:

Once you have been here for a while, you kind of learn to weather the storm and move on. A few of us (myself included) have been called out personally by internet 'celebrities' for a laugh, but you know what - interest soon wains and the world keeps turning. 

Stick with the forum - we're all here with this crazy fetish and in this together  

I’m relatively new to the forum, and it’s wonderful to not feel alone in the issues of shame or anxiety.. You’re right—people won’t hyperfixate on this like the victims of the ridicule might. I’ve just gotta learn to ignore it  

On 7/19/2023 at 7:24 PM, Lacrima said:

I remember feeling ashamed. Now I just don't care at all. I am who I am and there's nothing wrong with that, I don't care what other people think about me, especially on this subject.

I hope to reach that level acceptance of the fetish. I do worry too much about what others think, but it’s not like I can change any of it

On 7/20/2023 at 4:40 PM, SexualOddity said:

Ultimately, my attitude is that we’re not posting for people who don’t have the fetish, so they probably shouldn’t be suprised if they don’t get it.  If they really feel the need to point and laugh then have at it, I guess.  But that’s more a reflection on them than it is on us.

Agreed if they can’t accept that this is something people don’t choose to have and it isn’t harming anyone else, they’re just immature

On 7/21/2023 at 12:08 PM, solitaire-au said:

So I guess my take is, be aware you have a digital shadow, be careful what you share especially wrt identifiable details, and be aware you no longer have complete control once you do more than lurk (and even then, there’s a small risk.)

This is another thing I’m afraid of, but I do try to practice online safety, there’s not much else I can do.

[KungFuKok]

I’m always able to have a good laugh whenever this happens. The mixture of reactions are always funny to me, whether it’s confusion, shock, or disgust (which is always a good one considering that we’re very harmless compared to other fetish groups) I’m always to laugh at it. 

[taway298]

i used to feel embarrassed but now i don’t care too much. i think it can be good for other people to know, maybe we can “normalize” fetishes like this eventually/make it easier to tell our partners at least. 

[iheartsneezn]

I reeeeaaaally used to be bothered by it. At this point, I just wish people would learn to see it the way they do foot fetishism now. 

[Roza]

On 8/16/2023 at 6:04 AM, iheartsneezn said:

I just wish people would learn to see it the way they do foot fetishism now. 

Ditto. I think I'd like it to be a little more well-known, like that or golden showers.

[nancy]

it being more well known seems good and bad to me. it would be cool for it to go more mainstream in some ways but the criticism that comes with it would be hard. when i was younger, i was very ashamed of the fetish and saw it as something dirty and wrong and i feel like a lot of the general public would feel the same/not be very open-minded