Unsure whether to report buyer or not?!

[Guest tineapple]

Hello everyone,

I just found myself in a quite awkward situation. A few days ago I got a message from a seller telling me that he needs some illustrations of the human body. I was really happy since it was a big order and I was going to make some good money however I ended up in refusing the project.
In his first message the buyer mentioned that he needs the illustrated body parts and bodies to have features specific to African Americans. It didn’t bother me at first, but then he kept insisting on this and repeating “black features”, “black features”, “black details”. I mean, I get the fact that the the appearance of a caucasian is not the same with that of a asian or african american, but I don’t understand what does that have to do with the inside of their mouths, their feet, hands or genitals. It made me quite uncomfortable and I turned down this project. However, I was wondering what is your opinion about it? What would you have done and whether or not I should report the buyer or not?

Thank you.

[Guest joshcates]

You were right to turn down the project when it made you uncomfortable, but it doesn’t seem like the buyer did anything against the rules.

[fonthaunt]

I agree with @joshcates. The order does sound awkward, but if you are comfortable with drawing nudes and people of varied skin tones, it seems like you’d be fine. Fiverr allows a certain amount of leeway for artistic nudity as long as the issue isn’t an adult service, though that might change, so you might have to check with Support to be sure they do even allow illustrations of nudes. Even if they don’t anymore, I don’t see why you’d report the buyer just for strange wording.

Since it made you uncomfortable, even if it was due to the strangely worded requests, you might want to put in your description and FAQs to contact you first if the buyer needs an illustration with nudity. Then you could see how they communication before taking the order. If you decide to try that, just check with Support and make sure they approve your description with the disclaimer.

Edited to add:
While discrimination is another issue on Fiverr if it’s a problem, the buyer you described didn’t sound discriminatory. They may not have known how to write what they needed. There are some variations in pigment with people of different skin tones. Some people have lighter colored palms, for example. I wouldn’t assume that the detailed requirements meant the buyer intended to break rules.

[Guest tineapple]

I agree with @joshcates. The order does sound awkward, but if you are comfortable with drawing nudes and people of varied skin tones, it seems like you’d be fine. Fiverr allows a certain amount of leeway for artistic nudity as long as the issue isn’t an adult service, though that might change, so you might have to check with Support to be sure they do even allow illustrations of nudes. Even if they don’t anymore, I don’t see why you’d report the buyer just for strange wording.

Since it made you uncomfortable, even if it was due to the strangely worded requests, you might want to put in your description and FAQs to contact you first if the buyer needs an illustration with nudity. Then you could see how they communication before taking the order. If you decide to try that, just check with Support and make sure they approve your description with the disclaimer.

Edited to add:

While discrimination is another issue on Fiverr if it’s a problem, the buyer you described didn’t sound discriminatory. They may not have known how to write what they needed. There are some variations in pigment with people of different skin tones. Some people have lighter colored palms, for example. I wouldn’t assume that the detailed requirements meant the buyer intended to break rules.

Thank you both for your answers. I didn’t necessarily want to report the buyer, but it was just awkward and I wanted to ask for other people’s opinions. I think it was best for both of us as I didn’t force myself to work on something I wouldn’t have enjoyed and the buyer didn’t receive something which wouldn’t have met his/her expectations.

[mchoker]

I ran into the same problem a couple of weeks ago and I ended up cancelling the order, but now it’s negatively affecting me. I wish there was an option to refuse orders in these type of cases.