INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Image copyrightGinger Banks; Getty ImagesImage caption
Adult performers Ginger Banks (left) and Alana Evans
Hundreds of porn stars and sex workers had their Instagram accounts deleted this year, and many say that they're being held to a
different standard than mainstream celebrities
"I should be able to model my Instagram account on Sharon Stone or any other verified profile, but the reality is that doing that would get
me deleted," says Alana Evans, president of the Adult Performers Actors Guild and one of the leading voices in the battle that adult stars
are waging to stay on the platform
Ms Evans' group has collected a list of more than 1,300 performers who claim that their accounts have been deleted by Instagram's content
moderators for violations of the site's community standards, despite not showing any nudity or sex."They discriminate against us because
they don't like what we do for a living," Ms Evans says.Image copyright@sabrinathebunnyImage caption
Performers say that
even posts such as these are consistently reported as inappropriate - and they have no idea why
The campaigning led to a
meeting with Instagram representatives in June, followed by the establishment of a new appeal system for removed accounts
During the summer, however, the talks halted and accounts belonging to adult performers have continued to be deleted.'Last straw'Ms Evans
was particularly upset when the account of porn star Jessica Jaymes was removed after her death in September
"When I saw that Jessica's account was deleted, my heart sunk
It was the last straw," she says.The account, which is followed by more than 900,000 people, was later reinstated.Image copyrightGetty
ImagesImage caption
Jessica Jaymes at the 2019 XBIZ Awards
In late 2018, adult performers say, an
individual or a number of individuals started a co-ordinated campaign to report accounts to social media platforms, with the clear intent of
This was often followed by harassment and intimidation, in the form of abusive messages
An anonymous individual - known in the industry as "Omid" - frequently boasted of being personally responsible for hundreds of
deletions.Subscribe to the TheIndianSubcontinent Trending podcast via TheIndianSubcontinent SoundsAdult performer and sex workers' rights
activist Ginger Banks was one of the first targets of the campaign
"When you put time and effort into building an account with over 300,000 followers and it gets deleted, that makes you feel defeated," she
"Even if you're following the rules, you still have your account deleted
And that's the part that's frustrating." Ms Banks says that removing adult performers and sex workers from social media is another way of
marginalising these groups by removing them from their primary - or, in some cases, only - marketing channel
"The people reporting us don't understand that people's incomes are affected, or they don't care
They think that we shouldn't be doing this job or it shouldn't exist."Image copyright@Omid91679072Image caption
Anti-porn campaigner Omid has claimed responsibility for getting accounts removed
Tech revolutionThe technological
revolution that has transformed the pornography industry has opened new channels and allowed many porn stars and sex workers to operate
independently, using webcam sites, subscription services and custom video platforms
Most use Instagram to showcase themselves and promote their personal brands
Adult production houses often consider the size of a performer's Instagram following when casting for new scenes
When a performer has their account deleted, they lose access to the fans and the business connections they've built up - with a potentially
significant impact on their income and livelihood.Many posts leave little to the imagination, but performers contend that the guidelines are
too vague and inconsistent in their enforcement
Crucially, they claim famous celebrities are allowed to be much more explicit on their accounts than porn stars or sex workers, without
"I've never posted explicit images on Instagram
But even a picture of me wearing leggings could be extremely provocative to someone, and worthy of being reported," says Ginger Banks
"We're letting these businesses determine what is art and what is pornography, and then punish us."Image copyright@Busty_Von_TeaseImage
caption
Adult performers say they are unfairly treated compared with mainstream models and celebrities
The portion of the quoted post at the bottom, which is cropped off, contains sexually suggestive images
Facebook respondsA
spokesperson for Facebook, which owns Instagram, told the TheIndianSubcontinent: "With such a globally diverse community, we have to put
rules in place around nudity and sexual solicitation to ensure content is appropriate for everyone, particularly young people
"We will take action on content reported to us if it breaks these rules
We give people the opportunity to appeal the decision and will reinstate content if we mistakenly remove something."The latest version of
Facebook's community guidelines tells users they cannot offer or ask for nude images, sexual content or sex chat using "commonly sexual
emojis", "regional sexualised slang", or a host of other content or images
Image copyrightGetty ImagesImage caption
"Commonly sexual emojis" can't be used in sexual solicitation conversations on
Facebook and Instagram
The training materials used by moderators to enforce these guidelines, however, are not public
Sex workers fear that Facebook places being acceptable to the most conservative audiences around the world before fairness and freedom of
Adult entertainment journalist Gustavo Turner, news editor at industry publication XBIZ, calls this the "lowest moral common
denominator"."There is also a culture in Silicon Valley that tends to infantilise the audience," he says
"Facebook is launching a dating service called Crushes, while having strict rules about sexual chat, even between consensual adults and
[even when it is] non-commercial."Art caught in the netAdult stars and sex workers aren't the only ones affected
Rachel Rabbit White, a writer, poet and artist, had her account deleted for sharing pictures from an exhibition titled The Revolutionary Art
of Queer Sex Work at the Leslie-Lohman Museum in New York
"I posted these archival, very important historic images of lesbian erotica from an esteemed gallery," she says
"I was careful not to get any of the ones that had nipples or genital nudity
But a couple of hours later my account was gone." It has since been reactivated.Pole dancer and blogger Bloggeronpole is one of the founders
of EveryBODYVisible, a campaign started after Instagram took action against pole dancing hashtags this summer
Hashtags such as #poledancing and #femalefitness returned zero results in search
The platform has later apologised and changed its policy, but it still blocks or restricts hashtags that might be used to share content in
violation of the guidelines
Campaigners call this excessive censorship, and say it disproportionally affects sex workers, sex educators and the pole dance community
"Celebrities keep their pictures, but we can't even post a video of us working out in a bikini," says Bloggeronpole
"If you are using your body in one way or another, even for education or to promote body positivity, you can't do it anymore because of the
way social media is being run." Another London-based pole dancer, Cinderella Jewels, says she uses Instagram to showcase her "pole journey",
but the removal of the first account she created and the disappearance of posts from searches affected her work and self-confidence
"It makes you feel like you're not supported, that people are against you for what you do," she says.Image copyright@unitedstripperBlog by
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