Cute kink illustration: meet Rebecca Lightbody

Rebecca Lightbody is an artist specialising in kink illustration. Her Instagram bio ‘Nice girl, horrible teeth’ reflects well as a metaphor for the art she makes- cute drawings of naughty things. In her spare time Rebecca is also an avid lingerie expert and enthusiast. It’s a sunny Wednesday morning when we catch up with her over video call to deep dive into her work, her background and her mission.

Tell us a bit about you.

I’m Rebecca Lightbody AKA Gaptoothbaby, which is my Instagram handle. I’ve been doing kink illustration since I was around 18. I’ve always been kind of sex orientated, so naturally my art progressed that way. I’ve also done a lot of work in the lingerie industry, so those things have sort of intertwined together, resulting in me getting to do lots of sexy stuff all of the time!

How did you get into doing kink illustration?

I’ve always been fascinated by people’s kinks and fetishes and a year after I finished college I did a foundation course where I made this zine called ‘Fetish’ and the concept was that in each issue we explored we would focus on a different fetish. So for one zine it was about smoking fetish.

The zine came in a cigarette packet and every page was rolled up like a cigarette, so you would unroll it and there would be little photographs etc. So the zine was the first time I did something more risqué with my art. From that, I became interested in the fetish side of pinup art, and in people like Bettie Page, and so that naturally progressed into a lingerie obsession.

I hope my kink illustration at least provokes people to question what sex actually is, and perhaps make them realise that it doesn’t always have to be penis-in-vagina sex, but that there’s a million different ways to explore desire and all of that falls under the bracket of sex.

What drives you to make kink illustration?

What I explore is not necessarily my kinks, but I simply find the concept of many kinks beautiful.  I just got hooked on making boundary-pushing art and seeing what people’s reactions were. I really enjoyed challenging people who perceived kink as taboo. Many kinks are very natural, and yet people can be disgusted by them. But those disgusted responses are always what drive me to keep doing more. 

I hope my kink illustration at least provokes people to question what sex actually is, and perhaps make them realise that it doesn’t always have to be penis-in-vagina sex, but that there’s a million different ways to explore desire and all of that falls under the bracket of sex, and that’s surely so exciting!?

Do you have a mission?

I hope to expand people’s conceptions of what sex can be. I try to make my kink illustration light-hearted and tongue in cheek. BDSM culture has these dark, underground connotations around it, but I think BDSM can be cute, fun and girly. I think we should bring kink into the light, rather than keep it as this dark secret.

When people hide their kinks and fetishes, I believe it leaves them feeling unfulfilled in many areas of their life. I think that being able to express yourself sexually majorly allows you to thrive in other areas of your life. So, yeah, my mission is to bring kink into the light and make it cute. 

Erotic art doesn’t necessarily have to provoke a sexual reaction, I think it’s more necessary to provoke a feeling of intimacy and closeness- that’s when it’s good. 

How has your style evolved?

Before I got into kink, my art was more dark and sort of gothic. I went through a big horror movie phase. I used to reject my femininity and only at university did I start to celebrate and embrace my femininity. I realised that being feminine wasn’t ‘anti-feminist’. Femininity is beautiful. I like focusing on femininity in my kink illustration because for so long the representation of sex in art has been very male focused and male gaze-y. 

Can you present one of your kink illustration works?

I did an illustration zine a couple of years ago during lockdown. My proposal was that if people sent me their sexts, I would illustrate them and then put them all into a zine. I wanted to see how people were trying to sexually express themselves during a time where we were so restricted.  It was really cool because I got such an intimate insight into the sex lives of others.

People can be even more expressive of their desires over text than face-to-face so it felt very raw. I want to make a part two to see if things have changed over the past couple of years, now that we are more connected and there are other ways to be sexually expressive, with the growth of sex parties etc. maybe people are less into sexting nowadays?

I always go back to the illustration style, using simple material like felt tips. The simple style makes it look innocent, so doing such kinky drawings with those almost child-like materials makes the images feel sort of ironic and light-hearted.

What is good erotic art to you?

Erotic art doesn’t necessarily have to provoke a sexual reaction, I think it’s more necessary to provoke a feeling of intimacy and closeness- that’s when it’s good. I’m also loving sensual photography at the moment and I think we need to see more of that!

Where do you draw your inspiration from?

My first inspiration was a show called Sexectera that focused on crazy kinks. It finished in around 2005.  Since then, John Willie, who illustrated Bizarre magazine, is my ultimate inspiration. I always go to his work when I’m a little uninspired. It’s the classic pinup style but with the fetish twist. I collect a lot of old porn magazines including vintage Japanese ones with super hardcore stuff, plus a collection solely on spanking from the 1960s!

Despite being inspired to try different mediums, I always go back to the illustration style, using simple material like felt tips. The simple style makes it look innocent, so doing such kinky drawings with those almost child-like materials makes the images feel sort of ironic and light-hearted.

I think lingerie can be such a self-love process- it almost feels more erotic than being nude. For example, wearing a piece like a cupless bra almost makes you feel like you’re a piece of art yourself. It ornaments your body.

Tell us more about your lingerie journey.

I had this older friend who used to always love buying sexy lingerie to wear for her boyfriend, and I wanted to go and buy some myself. I remember buying my first sexy bra from Ann Summers, it opened at the front and it was black and frilly- I loved it. So when I was 18, me and this friend started this blog where we would wear lingerie, discuss the material and talk about how the pieces made us feel.

Then I carried on doing that on my own, it became very important for me. I had such a huge passion for it, so as soon as I left uni I had an interview with a very inclusive feminist lingerie brand that I really admired called Playful Promises. I worked with them for 7 years and only recently stopped. Lingerie was all I lived and breathed for that period. 

I think lingerie is such a powerful thing- getting dressed up in the stockings, suspenders and briefs. It’s the art of the striptease. I think lingerie can be such a self-love process- it almost feels more erotic than being nude. For example, wearing a piece like a cupless bra almost makes you feel like you’re a piece of art yourself. It ornaments your body. 

The Sensuali site gives a similar vibe to my kink illustration, in that it looks as though it’s trying to bring kink into the light, rather than being an underground website that nobody should talk about in real life. 

What is good lingerie to you?

I like to wear the least material ever, for example, covering but not really covering. I love intricate embroidery and lace, you can get very rare laces which are so detailed. You might not appreciate it immediately,  but when it’s on your body it’s almost as though it has been drawn on your skin. It’s like you’re embellished.

But ultimately, good lingerie is whatever you feel comfortable and sexy in. The sex-positive event One Night Parties is great because it’s only women and a lot of the women there tend to wear beautiful lingerie- it’s nice to have all these women in beautiful lingerie in one space together admiring and appreciating each other .

How do you feel about Sensuali so far?

I think the concept is really interesting. We are currently really lacking a platform which allows people to connect, especially for those who are more interested in exploring the sensual side of sex and kink, rather than only hardcore stuff. It seems like a truly inclusive site.

The Sensuali site  gives a similar vibe to my kink illustration, in that it looks as though it’s trying to bring kink into the light, rather than being an underground website that nobody should talk about in real life. I’m excited to see what will happen with the artist section!

Discover more about Rebecca Lightbody.

Iso

Author

Iso is a writer and filmmaker based in East London. She is passionate about all things erotic and leads a sexy, shame-free life in hope that she can inspire others to do the same. Originally from a Northern seaside town, she is naturally drawn to the best things in life: candyfloss, trashy karaoke bars and heart-shaped sunglasses.