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Sex education and sexual enlightenment is good for everyone. But what happens when that discussion is censored on social media, where the word vagina is an ‘offensive’ term? @WhoresofYore looks at the battleground of sexual censorship on the internet. [THREAD] #SexualHealthWeek 
The West has a very long history of censoring sex. In 1580 for example, politician William Lambarde drafted the first bill to ban “licentious” and “hurtful... books, pamphlets, ditties, songs, and other works that promote the art of “lascivious ungodly love”. 1/17
439 years later and the struggle between freedom of expression and government censorship shows no sign of letting up. The battleground is now the internet and the fight is on to purge the digital world of “lascivious ungodly love”. 2/17
In America, the Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act (FOSTA) has made posting or hosting online prostitution adverts a federal crime, and the Stop Enabling Sex-Trafficking Act (SESTA) has made websites directly responsible for third party content. 3/17
In the UK, the government’s ‘Digital Economy Act’ will soon make it mandatory for adults to have to enter credit card details into any online site that carries ‘pornographic material’ to prove their age. 4/17
These Acts are intended to prevent children accessing online pornography and to tackle online sex trafficking. Because we can all agree that those things are pretty awful, these Acts have been waved through with little thought to the consequences. 5/17
In response, Craigslist removed the personals section in the US, Google has accelerated removing sex work related videos on Google drive, Reddit has removed all sex work related forums, as did the Erotic Review, and Microsoft banned ‘offensive’ language/ nudity on Skype. 6/17
Social media platforms, such as Instagram, Facebook, Youtube, Skype, Reddit, and Tumblr are now cracking down heavily on any and all ‘adult content’. Google upgraded its algorithm to block any searches with words like ‘porn’ in them. 7/17
But sex workers do not just use the internet to advertise their services. They use it to stay safe. Advertising online allows sex workers to screen clients before meeting them. It allows people to work indoors and independently. Pushing sex workers offline is dangerous. 8/17
Sex workers also warned that this kind of online censorship and silencing of those who work in any area of sexuality is just the beginning. And they were right. 9/17
The clampdown on social media has resulted in educators, artists, health professionals & activists having their accounts deleted. Platforms like Instagram ‘shadow ban’ accounts that it feels are ‘sexually suggestive’, meaning the account is active but won't show in search. 10/17
It has become such an issue that the Adult Performers Actors Guild are now organising against Instagram for unfair discrimination of over 1000 adult performers who have had their accounts deleted, despite following the ‘rules’. 11/17
In June 2019, dozens of adult performers picketed outside Instagram’s Silicon Valley headquarters over guidelines about photos containing nudity. 12/17
I am a sex historian and post historical titbits such as this on Twitter and Instagram as @WhoresofYore and have had both accounts suspended because of ‘inappropriate content’. Thankfully, I was able to appeal on both occasions. But, I am one of the lucky ones. 13/17
Algorithms for Instagram & Facebook regularly block sex education accounts such as @thesexed, @erikalust @makelovenotporn @wevibe @BetonyVernon @MissVChicago. Others like @SlutsScholars were recently removed from Apple podcasts, despite being entirely educational in nature. 14/17
When people use their social media accounts to promote their work and build their brand, it's not hard to see how damaging it can be to suddenly find yourself deleted. 15/17
Pushing sex workers, artists, activists & educators offline will not protect children or prevent sexual exploitation. But it will prevent important conversations from taking place. It's not just pornography that is being censored, it's education, history, culture, and art. 16/17
If we want to keep our children “safe” from sex, we need to do something we British aren’t very good at doing; we need to talk openly and honestly about sex and porn. This is a conversation many of the accounts being deleted are trying to facilitate. 17/17
