Soledad makes badges out of unsolicited dick pics that she receives – to then make them solicited. She sells them in Berlin clubs such as Kater Blau, Wilde Renate, and also outside KitKat, where I met her for the first time.
Written by: Amanda Sandström Beijer
"It pays the rent", says Soledad Har Sheleg and smirks"
A couple of weeks ago I was standing in line outside KitKat, when Soledad passed by with a box filled with badges, bottle openers, puzzles – all made from dick pics. ’Dicksaw’ is what she calls the puzzle. My friend bought one of them to support her work and was told it was ´her cousins husband’s penis´.
Soledad is mentioned on Reddit, and men are worried. They want to know if it really is legal to sell other people’s body parts without their permission.
"Well if they're going to complain, I will ask them for their name, number and address and I will just report them for sexual harassment".
She receives most of the dick pics on WhatsApp, but they come from all over her social media channels, as they do for many female-identifying people.
"They want you to feel that you owe them something, and I must admit that sometimes I was foolish enough to send something back. Especially if we have chatted for a long time. But as soon as they get what they want, they're satisfied and stop giving me any more attention", she says and continues;
"They're diplomatic in a way. They ask you for a picture in return, without telling you what kind of picture. It's like drug dealers; they give you one for free. But when you have already taken it they tell you that you have to pay for it."
Men seem to think this is how life works, I give you a nude to make you send me one back
A lot of people are questioning unsolicited dick pics and what makes random men send them. Soledad had an ex who told her why he did it.
"He said he's doing it because he thinks it's a mutual transaction. Men seem to think this is how life works, I give you a nude to make you send me one back".
"I guess it's the same as with tourists and immigrants. When they arrive to a place where no one knows who they're, they will start to escalate a bad behavior. You drop your ethics completely because no one is there to tell you what to do. Stealing something, getting really drunk or whatever."
When sending dick pics to strangers one advantage is that they don't know you, so they cannot tell on you.
"It's between you and that person, and that person cannot complain about you. He's safe and anonymous. I asked Soledad to bring the dick pics to the interview, and now we're sitting with the whole table in front of us covered with them."
The all-time favorite so far for the customers is the one she named “English breakfast
"I have received around 350 unsolicited, and they keep coming. The all-time favorite so far for the customers is the one she named “English breakfast”.
"He made many good ones, but this one has too many toasts."
She points to one of the bigger pins and continues;
"This one on the other hand is very good. It's my best seller." The picture has toast, egg, white beans in tomato sauce and the penis lies on the plate as a sausage with ketchup on top.
"I got some complaints about some of these English breakfast pins. Customers definitely want beans."
So, there are good and bad motives, as well as good and bad lighting and quality. For Soledad, a good dick pic might be what her customers wants, but what determines the dick pic quality for others?
"A good dick pic is one that looks terrible, because that conveys the message. The worse it looks, the clearer the message is. But then again, guys don't look at the pictures, they snap and send. They don't even look for quality", says Soledad as she starts putting the photos back in the box.