This is a story about leaving—leaving inherited beliefs, prescribed roles, and narrow scripts. And about what becomes possible when a woman dares to step away.
Chen Weiling—Female Pleasure, Power, and the Courage to Step Away
Chen Weiling—Female Pleasure, Power, and the Courage to Step Away
CHINA
Chen Weiling grew up in Chaoshan, a small city in southern China where tradition still runs deep. In many families, the desire for a son outweighs everything else—so much so that some once risked everything just to “try again” for a boy.
She was born into this world: conservative about sex, quietly dismissive of girls.
And yet, Weiling grew up to become an illustrator known for her bold, sensual, and deeply tender explorations of female desire—creating, through her drawings, a private pleasure garden where women are free to look, feel, and play.
The First Leaving
Like many women, Weiling’s growth carries the trace of departure.
Her parents divorced shortly after she was born. She took her mother’s surname. When she was in third grade, her grandmother brought her to Foshan so she could receive a better education—away from the conservative environment of Chaoshan.
Thirty years ago, divorce, matrilineal surnames, and prioritizing a girl’s education were not common choices.
The quiet courage of her mother and grandmother—their own acts of leaving—created the space for Weiling’s later defiance to take root.
Desire, Fear, and the Silent Years
For a long time, rebellion did not come easily. Weiling describes this period as her “inner struggle phase.”
Growing up without proper sex education, desire arrived tangled with fear.
Weiling:
“In university, when I had my first boyfriend, my family kept hinting that I shouldn’t have sex before marriage. Their words carried a lot of weight. Even though I wanted to resist, I was constantly torn.”
She remembers spiraling into anxiety—imagining accidents, pregnancies, consequences she didn’t know how to face.
OSUGA:
How did you deal with those emotions?
Weiling:
“I drew them out. I didn’t really talk about it—I just kept everything inside. Looking back, it was all happening in my head. I was drawing sexual pleasure so freely, yet I hadn’t experienced it myself. It was fear, really—fear rooted in a lack of knowledge.”
Drawing became her private language of resistance.
Leaving the Ivory Tower: Sex and Power
In 2016, Weiling graduated from the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts. Stepping into society exposed her to the complexities of power, gender, and visibility.
While many claimed women had already “achieved equality,” she sensed something else—fragility, imbalance, and danger beneath the surface.
Her work began to shift.
Access Granted
Leaving the Male Gaze: The Female Pleasure Garden
Observing daily gender inequalities, Weiling asked a simple but radical question: What if the roles were reversed?
In her series The Female Pleasure Garden, women become the viewers, the agents of desire. Men appear only as symbolic attendants—figures without dominance.
Weiling:
“I wanted to create a utopia for women’s self-entertainment. A playground where women could feel free. There are no ‘real’ men there—only symbolic ones. The focus is entirely on women.”
These works mark a turning point: desire no longer organized around men, but around female subjectivity.
Leaving a Single Script: Tender as Water
For many, sex is still imagined only as something that happens between people. Weiling wanted to question that.
Her series Tender as Water centers on female self-pleasure.
In one piece, mountains become the body; flowing water, her climax; hands still in motion—exploring.
Weiling:
“A woman once told me this painting gave her strength. That it made her feel brave enough to explore her own body.”
The responses vary, but the message is shared: Women are allowed to focus on themselves—and find joy there.
OSUGA:
How do you see sex within intimate relationships?
Weiling:
“Sex is like dessert in life. Physical intimacy gives positive feedback to a relationship. Only through deep contact do you really understand each other.”
She sees sex toys the same way.
“For women, toys aren’t just about pleasure. They’re about learning your own body—without needing a man. That’s beautiful and direct. And of course, they can also be wonderful tools for couples.”
Where Chen Weiling and OSUGA Meet
In 2023, Chen Weiling collaborated with OSUGA on a limited-edition gift set inspired by classical Chinese aesthetics. The box paired OSUGA’s G-SPA with a set of intimacy game cards illustrated by Chen, where traditional visual language met contemporary desire.
Rather than being explicit, the project approached intimacy through imagery and play—inviting imagination, curiosity, and shared exploration. For Chen, it was another way of creating a private garden for women to define pleasure on their own terms.
For OSUGA, it affirmed a belief that sensuality can be cultural, poetic, and quietly radical—woven into everyday rituals.
