As we enter a decade most of us assumed would be filled with flying cars, time travel, teleportation and super rad cyborg style add ons for the human body, a large section of society is still seemingly having to fight for the right to earn a respectable living. The internet is now a living breathing organism and a highly popular place to discover an orgasm, an escape from reality, or a destination for fantasy. It’s 2020, can we please now accept the fact that the majority of the Earth’s population like to enjoy adult content?

“Public opinion is our greatest weapon, so let's entertain and empower”
- Rebecca Crow (Activist)

Did you know that in the Alexa top 50 most popular websites on the planet, 3 of those sites are pornographic websites? Amongst Facebook, Twitter, Google, and Instagram. However, some social media giants still seem to want to suppress content of an expressive artistic nature, despite it not actually breaking their community guidelines. Instagram is the latest culprit to come under fire from artists and creators in what seems to be an indiscreet operation to silence those that may have professional links to what could be considered as ‘Sex Work’. “Last year, we protested outside the IG HQ in London with 60 other Sex Workers and made the national news,” says Rebecca Crow, a globally popular sex worker that also goes by the name katsandcrows. “This protest is for ANYONE who has been affected by Instagram's stigma forming and outright harmful censorship. Sex Workers, LGBTQ+ communities, self-harm recovery/fighters, fat bodies, activist artists and ALL ALLIES!” she goes onto say.

Rebecca Crow is planning a second protest outside of the London headquarters of Instagram, which is owned by social networking giant, Facebook on Thursday 30th January. As Rebecca mentions, this protest is not just about sex workers being targeted and victimised, but a wide range of people and subcultures that Instagram seemingly does not want to promote on their platform. According to the official stance from Instagram “...photos, videos, and some digitally-created content that show sexual intercourse, genitals, and close-ups of fully-nude buttocks...” are not allowed on their platform, which is fine, so why are they banning hundreds of accounts that do not show this?

The big issue here is the vast majority of Sex Workers on Instagram are not offering sex services on the platform, yet they are still being targeted. According to Instagram “Nudity in photos of paintings and sculptures is OK, too.” So a realistic painting of a nude model is fine, but not the nude model?

Instagram claim they wish to keep their platform safe due to the fact you only need to be 13 to open an account. How about they take steps instead to ensure people under the age of 18 do not see content that could be classed as adult in nature, or better yet, stop offering your platform to children? A 13-year-old does not need to have a social media account for any reason.

The protest will take place on Thursday 30th January outside the offices next door to this cocktail bar: 5 Brock St, London NW1 3FG at 1PM (GMT)

Author Bio: AC Speed

Senior Editor

I started my career as a music journalist in 2013 and have been involved in the music industry as a touring musician, studio engineer and artist consultant since 2002, as well as previously being a signed artist. My passion for delivering high quality, informative music-related news is a daily driving force behind the content I create. Also a huge gaming nerd! Born in the United Kingdom and currently living in Sweden. Skål!

CONTACT ME HERE

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