It’s just after dark and we’re standing in a long line, waiting to enter a concert. Packed tightly into the area, people are nearly shoulder-to-shoulder with no more than a few inches between them. Instead of eagerly scanning ahead at the concert gates before us, most people’s eyes are cast down, their faces illuminated in a soft, eerie blue glow from their phones. Glancing around, it’s easy to catch a glimpse of the various social-media feeds that are occupying the crowd. The person in front of me is checking his Facebook, liking and commenting on posts as the seemingly oblivious girl beside him makes a puckered kiss face whilst taking a dozen selfies. Without trying to spy, it’s easy to see what they’re looking at on their phones—these days the screens are generously sized.
Taking note of the crowd, I glance around furtively as I pull out my phone, scanning for nearby children or someone that might be easily offended. When I’m sure no one is looking, I cautiously pull up my Twitter account, ready to click away at a moment’s notice. Sometimes my social-media feed isn’t exactly SFW. Or public. With the plethora of XXX GIFs and video clips porn stars and adult companies post, it’s a miracle anyone still looks at the tube sites.
When it comes to adult content on a mainstream platform, Twitter has long been known as one of the more lenient social-media channels—unlike Facebook and its subsidiary Instagram, both of which harbor no-nudity policies, and have a history of shutting down porn-star accounts for even the tamest of posts.
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How far that freedom on Twitter stretches has recently come into question and has many in the adult industry on edge.
In mid-October, actress Rose McGowan posted on Instagram: “Twitter has suspended me. There are powerful forces at work. Be my voice. #rosearmy #whywomendontreport.” Policed by Twitter, her account was put on a temporary lockdown after a series of posts about Harvey Weinstein’s alleged sexual misconduct, one of which included the office number of a Hollywood agent. McGowan’s account allegedly violated the Terms of Service agreement, a claim the social-media giant followed up with by reiterating and clarifying their policies on abusive behavior, spam, graphic violence, and adult content. It was the latter that sent a ripple through the adult-entertainment industry.
“People are panicking for no reason. Am I concerned? Absolutely not,” says adult star Nina Kayy. “I believe people have terrible reading comprehension and critical-thinking skills. People are already censoring their pictures but if you read it, the policy clearly says it’s for promoted content.”
Through the fog of misleading headlines warning that porn would no longer be acceptable to tweet, loyalists kept the faith and clung to the first line of Twitter’s Rule Book: “We believe that everyone should have the power to create and share ideas and information instantly, without barriers.”
When asked to clarify the controversial interpretation, Twitter representative Dan Jackson responded by stating: “None of the policies from our announcement [Nov. 3rd] are new. These are our existing policies, but we made both them and our expectations more clear. We shared more than we have in the past to help provide clarity, and added a lot more detail so people can see examples of what would violate these policies as well as how we’d enforce them.”
This news comes as a relief to many in the industry who rely on social media to build their porn-star presence. Carmen Valentina posts an assortment of images ranging from hardcore XXX to safe for work to her 400,000 followers, but clearly warns in her Twitter bio: “Don’t follow/stalk me if you hate porn and be 18+.”
Valentina is nonplussed about the updated policy clarifications, and says as long as Twitter continues to allow the same freedoms it does now there will be little effect on the industry. “I have never paid for any promotional tweets and I don’t know a single other porn girl who has either,” says Valentina. “I think most porn companies don’t bother buying promotional tweets, since they’re unlikely to be approved anyway due to the stigma porn carries.”
Twitter allows users to post graphic content and though it advises they mark the content sensitive, there are few roadblocks to keep kids from viewing it. AVN award-winning web director Ivan, who co-owns the PUBA Network, says his company encourages the women partnered on their websites to “use social media to build your brand.” Posting hardcore images to gain followers is not the same as building a profitable brand that will later convert fans to consumers.
If Twitter’s updated policies, due out Nov. 14, include limits on adult content, Ivan doesn’t see the harm in it and believes it could even be beneficial for those in the industry, forcing them to get creative without the nudity.
“We advise the women we work with not to post everything. Post enough to get people interested, the same way mainstream movies use trailers to tease the audience,” says Ivan. “Why put all of that on Twitter for free? Make money with it, don’t give it out. You are porn stars not Twitter Stars.”
