The Third Deadly Sin

Dear Jeff D’Onofrio,

I would like to discuss your recent announcement, and just how tone deaf, ignorant, and harmful it is. Livejournal did this exact same thing to us once, and it’s deeply upsetting that instead of learning from their mistakes, the harmful things they did and perpetuated, you are instead repeating them whole cloth.

First you say this:

Tumblr has always been a place for wide open, creative self-expression at the heart of community and culture… we’re proud to have inspired a generation of artists, writers, creators, curators, and crusaders to redefine our culture and to help empower individuality.

The you go on to say this:

We’ve realized that in order to continue to fulfill our promise and place in culture, especially as it evolves, we must change. Today, we’re taking another step by no longer allowing adult content, including explicit sexual content and nudity (with some exceptions).  

And then this:

We recognize Tumblr is also a place to speak freely about topics like art, sex positivity, your relationships, your sexuality, and your personal journey. We want to make sure that we continue to foster this type of diversity of expression in the community, so our new policy strives to strike a balance

And finally this:

It is our continued, humble aspiration that Tumblr be a safe place for creative expression, self-discovery, and a deep sense of community.

You cannot have a safe place for creative expression, self-discovery, and a deep sense of community  when you just told the majority of that community they’re not welcome.

Which is what you did. A lot of are, shockingly, adults. We do grown-up things. This website was a rare one in which we could combine all our myriad interests in ADULT ways. A lot of us are professionals who posted our works here, be it writing, illustration or other. You are telling us, basically, that we’re little better than sex traffickers and our content has to go right out the door with theirs.

That’s not fostering ‘a safe place for expression, self-discovery, and a deep sense of community’.

That’s purity culture. It’s your website and obviously you can do what you want, but don’t claim to give a shit about people when you’re literally telling us that we’re not welcome because of our interests.

It is not the internet’s job to serve as secondary parents. If underage people are looking at things they shouldn’t, it is their parents problem and responsibility. Not yours. Not mine.

And it’s exhausting, hurtful, and distressing that time and time again this sort of things happens. Fanfiction.net. Livejournal. I could compose a list that would reach to the moon. We do not deserve to be treated this way just because we write about or draw graphic sex. The sex is not the problem. It’s never been the problem.

The problem is that it’s largely women and queer people enjoying those things.

So thank you for being one more person and company who thinks that women and queer people are no better than sex traffickers and pedophiles. Thank you for stabbing us in the back like so many others. Thank you for reminding us that the world thinks we’re garbage, and we’re not allowed to simply enjoy things the way  cis men and straight people are. That we’re only allowed to enjoy them behind the heavy gates of 'adult’ sites.

Cis men are not constantly told to go to adult sites to enjoy the things they find sexy and attractive. Straight people are not told to stop posting pictures and videos and movies and books and more about people fucking. Cis men and straight people are never lumped in with pedophiles and sex traffickers in yet another 'what about the children’ attack of puritanical thinking. They are never told to just go to adult sites because there are plenty of those. They are never asked to leave simply for existing and likes all the same things that everybody else likes.

This change is not going to fix the problems you’re reassuring everyone you care about. It’s just going to hurt the people who thought they were safe, and have learned yet again that we’re not.

― Sean O'Casey