Yesterday, Tumblr announced that they would be purging adult content from their website. This is a devastating blow to a number of communities (including fandoms), but I’m especially sad to see a thriving network of diverse sex bloggers lose the home they created. It was on Tumblr that I found self-love through the words and images shared by other queer and trans folks. Content creators of all kinds – from folks who assembled kink resource lists to sex workers advertising their work – spent years building a space where they could express their sexuality and affirm and educate others. In less than a month it will be banished, further ostracizing queer sexuality in the name of family friendly advertising and app store access. The next generation of adult queers will have to find somewhere else to unearth and explore the limitless potential of their own sexual beings.
I can’t really articulate the depth of my frustration and sense of loss. The sex I’ve had all my adult life doesn’t look like the sex on tv, in mainstream porn and erotica, or chatted about in stage whispers with gal pals. I’m fat, I’m queer, I’m trans, I’m disabled. Until Tumblr, it was hard to find sex that looked like the sex I was having or people like me candidly talking about it – and now that outlet is gone.
So, what am I going to do about it?
Twitter is the largest social media platform that hasn’t yet banned us. I’ve already been followed by a number of people making Twitter accounts in response to the Tumblr purge, so at least some migration is happening. To help build some semblance of community, I’ll be hosting weekly Twitter chats under the hashtag #QueerSexChat.
These chats are intended to create a space for queer and trans people (and yes, that of course includes aces and my fellow enbies!) to discuss sex, kink, and adult content through a queer lens. The hashtag will hopefully become a place where people can share everything from nudes to education, at least until Twitter brings the banhammer down on us too.
Queer Sex Chat is actually something I’ve wanted to do for awhile! There are plenty of pockets of sex positivity on Twitter, but they often have a heteronormative vibe that makes me feel like even the most basic parts of myself are unusual or fringe. And that’s not the atmosphere needed for the kind of vulnerability that discussing sex and kink warrants.
I’m still ironing out the details, but in the meantime you can follow the Queer Sex Chat account on Twitter and read its rules and information page right here on my blog!
Questions? Suggestions? Leave them in the comments below!