Political neutrality is for OnlyFans and if you’re not on there, you need to lead with your values. The latest buzzword in marketing is “values-based marketing”. That is, showcasing your work in a way that appeals to your customers’ values. It’s everywhere – content creators on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, or Facebook infuse their titles with their opinions. And I want to share my thoughts on why doing this is good for you.
The other day, I read a report about Donald J Trump being called a p***y a** b***h by Chrissy Teigen on Twitter and almost having her account shut down by the White House. Not a fan of hers and this post is not about her. But I thought it was really important for artists to not be wishy-washy about expressing our values in a public space.
Living and breathing our values builds trust and that in turn helps our audience to find us. We should take a position on certain matters. Our audience wants to know what we think because they want to know why they are supporting us.
Political neutrality refers to the idea that an individual should not promote a particular political ideology or agenda. A position like this is certainly appropriate for public institutions such as the judiciary, law enforcement agencies, and civil service. These institutions must maintain fairness and objectivity in decision-making. They are expected to work without bias towards any particular political party or agenda.
However, for artists in a commercial space, achieving complete political neutrality should feel unnatural, because our personal or ideological leanings directly influence our work. Naturally, the main disadvantage of being politically neutral is lack of advocacy. By remaining politically neutral, we may miss opportunities to gain support for causes or policies that we believe in.
As artists, we have the means to express ideas in ways that will appeal to a wide cross section of society. If a cause or policy is in the public interest or if there are vulnerable groups who are affected, we should speak up. Being an artist is a privilege and we must always remember the advantages that creative expression affords us.
According to recent business research, being politically neutral may prevent us from making good business decisions. One negative consequence of fence-sitting is perceived lack of accountability. Political neutrality is often a way to avoid making tough decisions. An audience will notice that. This can be particularly problematic for a highly visible brand. Quite a number of popular artists have been criticised because of their decision to remain silent on matters that their audiences care about.
Remember the Balenciaga ad scandal? Celebrities were called out for not speaking against the inappropriate presentation of children in that infamous ad campaign. And Taylor Swift got pummelled by her fans for not speaking up when the United States was politically split down the middle.
This brings me to my concern that in the wider society, political neutrality is a type of privilege. For example, some people want to signal that they are comfortable within the status quo. They can use neutrality to look away from people who are being marginalised or exploited. Or, neutrality could be a mask they use to hide their true beliefs while lobbing rhetorical salvos at their ideological opponents.
Many artists will avoid sharing their values or taking a political stance. It is natural to be scared of being called names on social media. But if your values are beneficial to society, being opinionated is good for everyone. Here are some ideas you can think about:
- Expressing values and beliefs: We often have deeply held values and beliefs about social, economic, and political issues. Taking a political stance allows us to support causes and policies that align with those values and beliefs. We gain support in return and build communities as a result.
- Participating in democracy: Participating in the democratic process doesn’t only mean voting. It means having a say in how society is governed. By engaging in political discourse, voting, and advocating for causes, we can help shape public policies and decisions that affect our lives and the lives of others. That’s the power of influence and how it should be used.
- Making a difference: By taking a political stance and advocating for causes and policies that align with their values, artists can make a positive difference in the world and contribute to social and political change. Isn’t “changing the world” why we are all here?
- Holding leaders accountable: By taking a political stance, and publishing our beliefs in the public domain, we can hold elected officials and other leaders accountable for their actions. This can help ensure that leaders are responsive to the needs and interests of their constituents and are held accountable for any negative impacts of their policies.
Taking a political stance does not necessarily mean aligning yourself with a political party or ideology. Instead, it means advocating for specific causes that you believe will have a positive impact on society.
If there is a cause that you feel passionate about, gather your thoughts and do some research. Reach out to others who have similar ideas. If your present audience does not agree with your stance, then be grateful for the chance to attract new supporters. I hope that you are fortunate, because then you will find that yours is the voice everyone has been waiting for.
Notes: Artwork for this post was generously provided by my fabulous friend, UK based 3D artist Pinxx. You can follow her on Instagram and keep up with her latest posts. And collect her artwork on Makers Place (ETH) or Objkt (tez). You’ll be happy you did. Thank you and have a fabulous week ahead.
Saint Joan (Creative Studio) 
10 replies on “Political neutrality is for OnlyFans: Artists should lead with their values”
It’s so cool to finally see your blog. I’m dazzled!!!! This is one of those controversial topics that people don’t like to talk about and it’s never easy to take one side yes or no. But …. if we can about what’s best for the individual, for the society, and for our world, we can’t go wrong.
Artists should make work that is neutral to everyone, even if they are one one side. I understand that these are modern times, but I think if we hold out, we will come back to a peaceful resolution. Thank you for writing about this interesting topic, Nicole.
Yayoi
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Hello Yayoi, thanks for your support, always. It’s great to hear your thoughts. So much to think about.
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So wild to be on social media and seeing people justifying their depraved tastes by saying “who cares if entertainers loved the architects of genocide?” In my humble opinion, the fact that we don’t know was bad back in the old days. We should be thankful that we live in an age where we can find out a person’s values. No one is perfect, and we humans can forgive, but that’s why accountability matters to many of us, as it should.
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Interesting discussion here so far. I, too, am guilty of wanting to block things out and not care about what really matters. Being a fence sitter has a lot of shame associated with it, and I think that people are feeling pressured to share their beliefs openly. We should have the freedom to be discreet about most things. However, where it really matters, we should be open. But I think we should keep most of our opinions to ourselves.
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I have to agree with you on that Rohan. We should keep our opinions to ourselves, especially when we cannot take the moral high ground, or if we might end up defending someone or something reprehensible.
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One of the “olds” here. It’s ironic you should mention Only Fans in your title because when I was raising my daughter, I never had to worry about her expressing her freedom to expose herself to millions of strangers. The world has become more open, and it is good that we are more aware of how dangerous it is to live here. We should be concerned that people with no moral compass are feeling powerful on the cheap. But to air this view today is to be controversial and unpopular.
It would be interesting to hear from you what political ideas might have led our Western culture to develop a culture of greed, which has caused our offspring to do ever more shameful things for money. If I were raising my daughter today, it would sicken me to know that a pervert wanted “the right” to view to my daughter’s intimate moments for $10 a month. At the same time, I am glad that the Internet has given future generations opportunities they wouldn’t have had otherwise.
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Great points you’ve raised, Seffie. I think that we can welcome the freedom to express ourselves while being firmly against exploiting others.
When some people hear the latter part of that statement, they immediately feel guilty. What they should do instead is reflect on their actions and find ways to have what they want without depriving others of their rights.
As you know, greed and selfishness have always been the soul of Western civilisation.
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I agree with your position of being principled in your values, but truth be told, I don’t want to hear about my favorite musician/athlete’s position on any matter. I’ll labor the point and say how terrible it would be if anyone in the original Wizard of Oz film was a raging anti-semite/nazi/et al. It would ruin the film forever. I go to certain places to escape from the chaos of the day, and it would really suck if that refuge was taken away. Films like the original King Kong were very popular, in part, due to the short time it allowed the viewers to escape from events of the day. An excellent and thought provoking post.
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#4 Holding leaders accountable: This is very important!
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Thanks, Sam. At some point we have to stand for something.
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