Tumblr's New Anti-NSFW Guidelines Are Making A Lot Of Bloggers Very Angry

The popular blogging platform, Tumblr, recently announced a ban on all adult content on its site. Adult content is defined on the Tumblr website as media showing “real-life human genitals or female-presenting nipples, and any content—including photos, videos, GIFs and illustrations—that depicts sex acts.”

Since Tumblr is known as an online home for weird, edgy, and, occasionally, shocking content, the decision left many Tumblr lovers reeling with some going so far as to say the decision marks the “death” of the site.

This heightened policing of controversial content originated with the company’s intention to crack down on the proliferation of child pornography on the site after receiving numerous complaints from users. In this crackdown, however, many NSFW blogs that did not feature child pornography were also terminated. Not to mention the regressive nature of banning "female-presenting nipples" (wtf is that phrase?) feels very 2012 and like it is disproportionately going to affect individuals who look for adult content that isn't created largely for the male gaze. 

The Daily Dot spoke to one such blogger named Jas, whose erotic art features “aged-up” versions of manga characters, and therefore does not fall into the category of child-porn. Both of Jas’s blogs, including one that was SFW, were taken down, which, as a creator, could impact her ability to make money.

Tumblr’s decision comes with some stipulations that will likely not do much to quell the already burning outrage of its NSFW bloggers.

Newsweek reports that exposed breasts will still be allowed “in connection with breastfeeding, birth or after-birth moments, and health-related situations, such as post-mastectomy or gender confirmation surgery.” Additionally, while visual content like GIFS and photos may be banned from the site, sexual content is still allowed in the form of written erotica, sculpture, and illustration.  

Tumblr CEO Jeff D’Onofrio wrote in a posted on the site that the company “spent considerable time weighing the pros and cons of expression in the community that includes adult content. In doing so, it became clear that without this content we have the opportunity to create a place where more people feel comfortable expressing themselves.”