The Pleasure Bank (TPB) is an initiative of the Share-Net Netherlands Community of Practice on Sexual Pleasure, and officially launched in June 2023. In 2022, we set out on a mission to move beyond the realms of pleasure positive language, to a new era of pleasure positive imagery. As Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) experts and advocates, we knew all too well the reality of how difficult it can be to find the right images to support our work and how limiting it can be to not have the right images which showcased the spectrum of sexual pleasure, including the spectrum of wonderful diverse bodies, genders, sexualities and emotions! We decided that if the images we wanted to see weren’t easy to access, then we would get the ball rolling and commission some that were. And then we thought, what if there was one communal place where all these images were compiled and organised, in an easy-to-use gallery? What if we reached out to the pleasure community and asked them to contribute to a digital library that we could all benefit from and invest in? What if there was a resource which meant that we could move beyond bananas and grapefruits to using images which normalised sexual pleasure, were realistic and celebrated the diversity and emotion which sexual pleasure encompasses? Well, now we no longer have to think what if.

We are beyond excited to have launched TPB and want to celebrate by adding more illustrations. We hereby are opening a call for new illustrations to be added. This call comes in two parts:

• We are asking for creatives to submit illustrations to be featured on The Pleasure Bank. Selected submissions will receive a 150 euro stipend.
• Do you already have images or designs that showcase pleasure in all its diversity? If so, consider promoting your work via The Pleasure Bank to help us, health educators, and pleasure pioneers around the world achieve our goal of normalising and celebrating sexual pleasure. (Details on how to upload work can be found here). This option is not financially compensated.

Criteria:

• Image type: We are flexible on the formats of the illustrations (pencil sketches, digital drawings, graphics, etc).
• Image sizing and quality: DPI 72, 1600px (longside), sRGB
• The crosscutting criteria that need to be integrated and made visible in the image set as a whole include:
  • Diversity: Diverse and realistic body types, sexual orientation, gender identities, ages, skin colours, and cultures.
  • Connection, enjoyment and intimacy: We aim to showcase a wide spectrum of pleasure on TPB and are interested in receiving submissions which centre on forms of intimacy such as hand-holding, hugging, kissing, and other intimate moments of pleasure,
  • Evidence based: It is essential that images are specific and do not hide or withhold information, but help to provide a good understanding of the body and relationships (eg. Please do not use flowers or fruit in place of different body parts).
    • Please take a look at our Beyond Banana’s Guide to read more about the different criterion we think are integral for good pleasure positive images · Terms of Use: Creatives need to agree with the Terms and Conditions of for the Use of Artworks.

Submission applications:

To apply, please send your illustration along with the following information to info@thepleasurebank.com or submit your images via this form.

• Name and surname
• Title of art work
• Short introduction about yourself and the submission you are sending
• Any extra details which you would like to include in your biography on the gallery (eg. Pronouns, links to personal websites/ social media or links to venmo/patreon accounts)

Deadline to apply

Our current deadline for applications wishing to receive the €150 stipend is July 31 2023. TPB accepts images that are submitted as a gift to TPB on a rolling basis.