Gender Censorship in Online Art Communities
Gender Censorship in Online Art Communities
featuring deviantART
with special guest y!gallery
deviantART and y!gallery are opposing sides to the same censorship coin.
While deviantART allows all genders to be represented as subjects in art, the genders of its userbase must fit neatly into one of two boxes: male or female. On the flip side, y!gallery doesn't care about the genders of its users, but maintains very strict rules as to the genders of the subjects in the art posted to the site; more specifically, cismen-only.*
deviantART is the largest English-language online artist community. Established in August of 2000, it is a place for amateurs and industry professionals alike to showcase their work and interact with other artists. It boasts over 16 million registered members, from the boy who draws Naruto fanart for his college-level life drawing class to the woman who storyboards for Kung Fu Panda and Avatar: The Last Airbender.
In short, deviantART is a big, big deal.
Since most of its funding stems from advertisements plastered all over the site, deviantART must make a few concessions in its content. Since few advertisers wish to be associated with the adult entertainment industry, deviantART has made an attempt at a strict pornography policy. In item #565 of the Frequently Asked Questions (or FAQ) portion of deviantART, the policy is outlined in detail.
"When we mention 'pornographic content' in our policies we are specifically referring to specific subjects which we will clarify below.
We apologize if the descriptions below are slightly graphic.
The following contents are considered unacceptable for submission in either visual art or literature form and will be subjected to immediate removal without notice.
- Masturbation
Hands should not come into contact with genitalia in a matter which is clearly a display of fondling or masturbation.
- Sexual Intercourse.
Subjects would not be depicted in a clear display of sexual intercourse. This includes depictions of sexual penetration, oral to genital contact, genital to anal contact, and oral to anal contact without exception. Some depictions of same sex genital to genital contact and some depictions of oral to breast contact might qualify under this guideline as adjundicated [sic] by staff but not all will be considered an automatic violation of policy.
- Sexual bodily fluids (actual or simulated).
There should be no depiction of semen or vaginal lubricants.
- Erections.
There should be no use of imagery depicting a male erection, however there may be exceptions granted to illustrations created for legitimate medical or educational purposes.
- Vaginal or Anal Spreading
Female subjects should not be depicted with their labia spread or parted in any manner by hand or manipulated open or parted by any other artificial means or object. Neither sex should show the anus manually opened in a similar fashion.
- Adult oriented (sexual) toys.
"Adult toys" consisting of dildos, strap-ons, vibrators, etc. are not allowed.
Submissions which are judged to be in violation of these guidelines will be removed without prior warning. Users found submitting such content may have their account banned or suspended without warning.Also [sic] be aware that we prohibit providing any outside link to another website which provides access to the material described above."
Despite deviantART's attempts to be thorough in their definition of pornography, there are some odd incidents that have resulted from it.
The piece "CYNICAL But Doing All I Can" by the artist hobbitdragon is an illustration of a pre-op transman, covered in body hair but still bearing traditionally-feminine breasts, wearing a strap-on. Apart from the strap-on, the image is utterly nonsexual. The transman is seated on a couch, slumped, his expression utterly morose and one hand idly poking the tip of the strap-on. In this setting, this particular "sex toy" couldn't be less sexual if it tried. The artist's statement, placed directly below the image, identifies the transman as "Jackson" and makes it clear that he is using the strap-on as a tool to deal with his gender dysphoria and the resultant body dysmorphia; lacking a traditionally male phallus, he makes do with a synthetic prosthetic.
At least, all of this was explained until deviantART deleted the image for violating point six of their anti-pornography policy. While the strap-on was completely nonsexual in its function in that moment, it was still a strap-on, and therefore against deviantART's rules.
Since its deletion, hobbitdragon has posted an updated, self-censored version of the work, and provides links to an uncensored copy upon request. deviantART has not yet deleted the self-censored version.
Since deviantART is a private company and not an American government institution, they are well within their rights to remove the original version of "CYNICAL But Doing All I Can" for violating their Terms of Service. While it would have been nice of them to give the piece a more in-depth review, perhaps judging the inclusion of this particular nonsexual strap-on for its necessity to the meaning of the piece and not simply for being a strap-on, they are by no means required or even expected to.
However, deviantART's rules are not always adhered to so strictly, even by deviantART employees.
"endless sky 2" by reyrains is a photograph of a person from behind, bent over at the waist, spreading their genital region wide open with their fingers so the viewer may look past the labia majora into the pierced labia minora.
When a violation report was filed for the image in question, deviantART responded with the following:
"A reviewing member of staff has reviewed this report and has determined that no action is necessary as this deviation does not meet the current definition for pornography."
But, as point five of deviantART's definition of pornography states:
"Female subjects should not be depicted with their labia spread or parted in any manner by hand or manipulated open or parted by any other artificial means or object. Neither sex should show the anus manually opened in a similar fashion."
So it would seem that deviantART's policies are not applied rigidly so much as they are applied when the staff feels like it.
This discrepancy could be a simple misunderstanding. Far be it from me to accuse deviantART of trans* discrimination based on a single, isolated incident. But this is not a single, isolated incident, thanks to an event that some have taken to calling GenderFail2010.
In 2010, deviantART rolled out version 7.0 of their site. Among other tweaks, it changed the way users were required to specify their gender. The original options were "male," "female," and "unspecified," which left some much-appreciated wiggle room for trans* users. But version 7.0 eliminated the "unspecified" option, leaving only "male" and "female" for users to choose from. Not choosing was not an option. As a result, users who did not fit neatly into one box or the other were left without the means to identify themselves as the site required.
Some trans* members of deviantART contested the change via bug reports. As the user split-complex put it,
"It's not that I 'do not wish' to designate my gender. I wouldn't mind doing so, actually! But I can't with the options you offer. I am not male and I am not female. Therefore, I CANNOT designate my gender. It's as though you offered a box for users to designate their race and only listed white and black."
To which deviantART staff member realitysquared responded,
"My apologies but there are only two sexes; male and female so one should apply to you. In the unusual case that you are a hermaphrodite then I would suggest that you select the one which you feel applies the best."
This response is disturbing for a few reasons.
First, the staff member is confusing sex with gender, a particularly troublesome development considering that deviantART was specifically asking for the users' gender and not sex.
Secondly, there are more than two sexes. Apart from the more commonly understood male and female, there are intersexed individuals.
Thirdly, when used on humans, the word "hermaphrodite" is a slur on par with "faggot." Furthermore, it is scientifically impossible for a human being to be a true hermaphrodite, the definition of which requires that there be a set of fully-functional reproductive organs present for each sex on a single individual. The closest phenomenon would be an intersexed individual.
Fourthly, the suggestion that the user select the option which "applies the best" is useless, as the user has already explained that neither option applies at all.
From this exchange, one can conclude that deviantART staff has poor customer-service training at best, and at worst, harbors bigotry towards trans* individuals.
Over the course of the next few months, deviantART changed the name of the gender designation to "sex" and instituted an "other" option, which mollified some users but left others feeling bitter and questioning why the gender option had ever been changed in the first place. Though deviantART has yet to give an official explanation, the popular theory is that deviantART's advertisers wanted to introduce male/female-targeted advertising. The fact that this type of advertising reinforces the gender binary and alienates large numbers of potential customers, both cis- and trans*, is an argument for another time.
In her essay "Ruled Out: Vocabularies of the Censor," Judith Butler wrote that "A homosexual is one whose definition is to be left to others, one who is denied the act of self-definition with respect to his or her sexuality, one whose self-denial is a prerequisite for military service." This idea is easily applied to the deviantART situation, with a few minor alterations:
"A [gender-variant person] is one whose definition is to be left to others, one who is denied the act of self-definition with respect to [their gender], one whose self-denial is a prerequisite for [membership to deviantART]."
In short, while deviantART does censor some artwork, its most notable censorship is its censorship of its userbase's gender identities.
y!gallery, in contrast, does not ask for its users' sex or gender. But it does have very strict rules for content.
y!gallery is an erotic art site, focusing on "yaoi," the Japanese term for art and literature depicting homosexual male relationships. Because of this focus, y!gallery only allows art containing men. Their definition of men is reproduced below:
"The short version of rule 1c is if it looks like a woman, do not post it. This is a site dedicated to the male form, not the male form plus 'men' that suddenly turn into women when they get posted to deviantART or some other art site.
Here is a list of some obvious male characteristics that can help give you an idea of what exactly it is we look for.
- A penis
- Body and facial hair
- Large muscle mass
- A 'package' or 'bulge' in the pants
- Flat chest
- 'T' shaped body
- Angular jawline/facial shape rather than soft/round
- A prominent Adam's apple
The more female characteristics a work has (full lips, women's clothing, big eyes, hourglass figure, soft jaw, etc.) the more scrutinous we will be. This rule does not explicitly prohibit effeminate men, but it has to be clear that they are not women.
This is not an exhaustive list. If you need more assistance to determine differences between male and female features, try doing a Google search for photos of men and photos of women and compare them until you get it."
While y!gallery is a private company and fully within their rights to make and enforce whatever rules they see fit, their definition of men remains incredibly rigid. Not only does it exclude pre-op transmen entirely (reinforcing the idea that they are "not really men"), but many cismen would be hard-pressed to live up to the examples of masculinity that y!gallery presents.
The list of expected male characteristics is disturbing enough on its own. When presented alongside the explanatory paragraphs, it gets downright scary, mostly due to the tone of the writing. Phrases such as "obvious male characteristics" suggest that the writer is at least a subconscious believer in the gender binary. The final sentence ("If you need more assistance to determine differences between male and female features, try doing a Google search for photos of men and photos of women and compare them until you get it.") is downright offensive, even if one does agree fully with the idea that men are men and women are women and ne'er the twain shall meet.
Ignoring the tone and focusing on the list, we find that y!gallery perpetuates not only the gender binary but also the idea of genital essentialism, the myth that the sole determiner of a person's gender is what lies between their legs.
And yet, this strict adherence to the ideals of the gender binary and genital essentialism is just in the site's content. Its userbase remains free to express their personal gender identities as they see fit, with no requirements or restrictions.
Because of this, I find that while their policy is still damaging in its core support of the kyriarchy, it is (for now) less upsetting and problematic than deviantART's uncompromising need to know the shape of its users' genitals.
---
*A few definitions:
"Cis-" is a prefix indicating that the person agrees with the gender assigned to them at birth. For example, a person with an M on their birth certificate who identifies as male is a cismale (or cisman).
"Trans-" is a prefix indicating that the person disagrees with the gender assigned to them at birth. For example, a person with an M on their birth certificate who identifies as female is a transwoman.
"Trans*," for the purposes of this essay, is a catch-all term for people whose gender identities do not match up with the gender assigned to them at birth, or do not adhere to the kyriarchy's gender binary. These identities include transgender, transsexual, androgyne, intersex, neutrois, two-spirit, and others.
"Gender binary" is the myth that there are only two genders, male and female, and that people of each gender must adhere to a strict set of rules and behaviors.
"Transgender" is the full-word version of the prefix "trans-."
"Pre-op" is short for "pre-operation" or "pre-operative," and is typically used to describe a trans* person who has not undergone any sex reassignment surgeries such as breast augmentation (the addition of man-made materials to the breasts), mastectomy (removal of the breasts), hysterectomy (removal of the uterus and ovaries), orchidectomy (removal of the testes), vaginoplasty (creation of a vagina), or phalloplasty (creation of a penis).
"Gender dysphoria" is the psychological word for trans*ness; in essence, being uncomfortable with one's assigned gender.
"Body dysmorphia" is, in the simplest terms, hatred of one's body. As it relates to trans* individuals, it usually focuses on the genitals and secondary sexual characteristics (jawline, facial and body hair, hand size, gender-specific distribution of fat, etc.).
"Sex" is generally taken to mean the gender assigned by physical characteristics present at birth. There are at least three sexes; male, female, and intersexed.
"Gender" is how a person self-identifies; male, female, etc. Most people find that their gender and assigned sex are in agreement; some do not.
"Intersex" means that a person's physical sex is not definitively male or female on a biological level; this can present itself in a variety of ways, including ambiguous genitalia or chromosomes other than XX or XY.
---
DISCLAIMER:
I use deviantART. I use y!gallery. This will probably not change in the near future.
featuring deviantART
with special guest y!gallery
deviantART and y!gallery are opposing sides to the same censorship coin.
While deviantART allows all genders to be represented as subjects in art, the genders of its userbase must fit neatly into one of two boxes: male or female. On the flip side, y!gallery doesn't care about the genders of its users, but maintains very strict rules as to the genders of the subjects in the art posted to the site; more specifically, cismen-only.*
deviantART is the largest English-language online artist community. Established in August of 2000, it is a place for amateurs and industry professionals alike to showcase their work and interact with other artists. It boasts over 16 million registered members, from the boy who draws Naruto fanart for his college-level life drawing class to the woman who storyboards for Kung Fu Panda and Avatar: The Last Airbender.
In short, deviantART is a big, big deal.
Since most of its funding stems from advertisements plastered all over the site, deviantART must make a few concessions in its content. Since few advertisers wish to be associated with the adult entertainment industry, deviantART has made an attempt at a strict pornography policy. In item #565 of the Frequently Asked Questions (or FAQ) portion of deviantART, the policy is outlined in detail.
"When we mention 'pornographic content' in our policies we are specifically referring to specific subjects which we will clarify below.
We apologize if the descriptions below are slightly graphic.
The following contents are considered unacceptable for submission in either visual art or literature form and will be subjected to immediate removal without notice.
- Masturbation
Hands should not come into contact with genitalia in a matter which is clearly a display of fondling or masturbation.
- Sexual Intercourse.
Subjects would not be depicted in a clear display of sexual intercourse. This includes depictions of sexual penetration, oral to genital contact, genital to anal contact, and oral to anal contact without exception. Some depictions of same sex genital to genital contact and some depictions of oral to breast contact might qualify under this guideline as adjundicated [sic] by staff but not all will be considered an automatic violation of policy.
- Sexual bodily fluids (actual or simulated).
There should be no depiction of semen or vaginal lubricants.
- Erections.
There should be no use of imagery depicting a male erection, however there may be exceptions granted to illustrations created for legitimate medical or educational purposes.
- Vaginal or Anal Spreading
Female subjects should not be depicted with their labia spread or parted in any manner by hand or manipulated open or parted by any other artificial means or object. Neither sex should show the anus manually opened in a similar fashion.
- Adult oriented (sexual) toys.
"Adult toys" consisting of dildos, strap-ons, vibrators, etc. are not allowed.
Submissions which are judged to be in violation of these guidelines will be removed without prior warning. Users found submitting such content may have their account banned or suspended without warning.Also [sic] be aware that we prohibit providing any outside link to another website which provides access to the material described above."
Despite deviantART's attempts to be thorough in their definition of pornography, there are some odd incidents that have resulted from it.
The piece "CYNICAL But Doing All I Can" by the artist hobbitdragon is an illustration of a pre-op transman, covered in body hair but still bearing traditionally-feminine breasts, wearing a strap-on. Apart from the strap-on, the image is utterly nonsexual. The transman is seated on a couch, slumped, his expression utterly morose and one hand idly poking the tip of the strap-on. In this setting, this particular "sex toy" couldn't be less sexual if it tried. The artist's statement, placed directly below the image, identifies the transman as "Jackson" and makes it clear that he is using the strap-on as a tool to deal with his gender dysphoria and the resultant body dysmorphia; lacking a traditionally male phallus, he makes do with a synthetic prosthetic.
At least, all of this was explained until deviantART deleted the image for violating point six of their anti-pornography policy. While the strap-on was completely nonsexual in its function in that moment, it was still a strap-on, and therefore against deviantART's rules.
Since its deletion, hobbitdragon has posted an updated, self-censored version of the work, and provides links to an uncensored copy upon request. deviantART has not yet deleted the self-censored version.
Since deviantART is a private company and not an American government institution, they are well within their rights to remove the original version of "CYNICAL But Doing All I Can" for violating their Terms of Service. While it would have been nice of them to give the piece a more in-depth review, perhaps judging the inclusion of this particular nonsexual strap-on for its necessity to the meaning of the piece and not simply for being a strap-on, they are by no means required or even expected to.
However, deviantART's rules are not always adhered to so strictly, even by deviantART employees.
"endless sky 2" by reyrains is a photograph of a person from behind, bent over at the waist, spreading their genital region wide open with their fingers so the viewer may look past the labia majora into the pierced labia minora.
When a violation report was filed for the image in question, deviantART responded with the following:
"A reviewing member of staff has reviewed this report and has determined that no action is necessary as this deviation does not meet the current definition for pornography."
But, as point five of deviantART's definition of pornography states:
"Female subjects should not be depicted with their labia spread or parted in any manner by hand or manipulated open or parted by any other artificial means or object. Neither sex should show the anus manually opened in a similar fashion."
So it would seem that deviantART's policies are not applied rigidly so much as they are applied when the staff feels like it.
This discrepancy could be a simple misunderstanding. Far be it from me to accuse deviantART of trans* discrimination based on a single, isolated incident. But this is not a single, isolated incident, thanks to an event that some have taken to calling GenderFail2010.
In 2010, deviantART rolled out version 7.0 of their site. Among other tweaks, it changed the way users were required to specify their gender. The original options were "male," "female," and "unspecified," which left some much-appreciated wiggle room for trans* users. But version 7.0 eliminated the "unspecified" option, leaving only "male" and "female" for users to choose from. Not choosing was not an option. As a result, users who did not fit neatly into one box or the other were left without the means to identify themselves as the site required.
Some trans* members of deviantART contested the change via bug reports. As the user split-complex put it,
"It's not that I 'do not wish' to designate my gender. I wouldn't mind doing so, actually! But I can't with the options you offer. I am not male and I am not female. Therefore, I CANNOT designate my gender. It's as though you offered a box for users to designate their race and only listed white and black."
To which deviantART staff member realitysquared responded,
"My apologies but there are only two sexes; male and female so one should apply to you. In the unusual case that you are a hermaphrodite then I would suggest that you select the one which you feel applies the best."
This response is disturbing for a few reasons.
First, the staff member is confusing sex with gender, a particularly troublesome development considering that deviantART was specifically asking for the users' gender and not sex.
Secondly, there are more than two sexes. Apart from the more commonly understood male and female, there are intersexed individuals.
Thirdly, when used on humans, the word "hermaphrodite" is a slur on par with "faggot." Furthermore, it is scientifically impossible for a human being to be a true hermaphrodite, the definition of which requires that there be a set of fully-functional reproductive organs present for each sex on a single individual. The closest phenomenon would be an intersexed individual.
Fourthly, the suggestion that the user select the option which "applies the best" is useless, as the user has already explained that neither option applies at all.
From this exchange, one can conclude that deviantART staff has poor customer-service training at best, and at worst, harbors bigotry towards trans* individuals.
Over the course of the next few months, deviantART changed the name of the gender designation to "sex" and instituted an "other" option, which mollified some users but left others feeling bitter and questioning why the gender option had ever been changed in the first place. Though deviantART has yet to give an official explanation, the popular theory is that deviantART's advertisers wanted to introduce male/female-targeted advertising. The fact that this type of advertising reinforces the gender binary and alienates large numbers of potential customers, both cis- and trans*, is an argument for another time.
In her essay "Ruled Out: Vocabularies of the Censor," Judith Butler wrote that "A homosexual is one whose definition is to be left to others, one who is denied the act of self-definition with respect to his or her sexuality, one whose self-denial is a prerequisite for military service." This idea is easily applied to the deviantART situation, with a few minor alterations:
"A [gender-variant person] is one whose definition is to be left to others, one who is denied the act of self-definition with respect to [their gender], one whose self-denial is a prerequisite for [membership to deviantART]."
In short, while deviantART does censor some artwork, its most notable censorship is its censorship of its userbase's gender identities.
y!gallery, in contrast, does not ask for its users' sex or gender. But it does have very strict rules for content.
y!gallery is an erotic art site, focusing on "yaoi," the Japanese term for art and literature depicting homosexual male relationships. Because of this focus, y!gallery only allows art containing men. Their definition of men is reproduced below:
"The short version of rule 1c is if it looks like a woman, do not post it. This is a site dedicated to the male form, not the male form plus 'men' that suddenly turn into women when they get posted to deviantART or some other art site.
Here is a list of some obvious male characteristics that can help give you an idea of what exactly it is we look for.
- A penis
- Body and facial hair
- Large muscle mass
- A 'package' or 'bulge' in the pants
- Flat chest
- 'T' shaped body
- Angular jawline/facial shape rather than soft/round
- A prominent Adam's apple
The more female characteristics a work has (full lips, women's clothing, big eyes, hourglass figure, soft jaw, etc.) the more scrutinous we will be. This rule does not explicitly prohibit effeminate men, but it has to be clear that they are not women.
This is not an exhaustive list. If you need more assistance to determine differences between male and female features, try doing a Google search for photos of men and photos of women and compare them until you get it."
While y!gallery is a private company and fully within their rights to make and enforce whatever rules they see fit, their definition of men remains incredibly rigid. Not only does it exclude pre-op transmen entirely (reinforcing the idea that they are "not really men"), but many cismen would be hard-pressed to live up to the examples of masculinity that y!gallery presents.
The list of expected male characteristics is disturbing enough on its own. When presented alongside the explanatory paragraphs, it gets downright scary, mostly due to the tone of the writing. Phrases such as "obvious male characteristics" suggest that the writer is at least a subconscious believer in the gender binary. The final sentence ("If you need more assistance to determine differences between male and female features, try doing a Google search for photos of men and photos of women and compare them until you get it.") is downright offensive, even if one does agree fully with the idea that men are men and women are women and ne'er the twain shall meet.
Ignoring the tone and focusing on the list, we find that y!gallery perpetuates not only the gender binary but also the idea of genital essentialism, the myth that the sole determiner of a person's gender is what lies between their legs.
And yet, this strict adherence to the ideals of the gender binary and genital essentialism is just in the site's content. Its userbase remains free to express their personal gender identities as they see fit, with no requirements or restrictions.
Because of this, I find that while their policy is still damaging in its core support of the kyriarchy, it is (for now) less upsetting and problematic than deviantART's uncompromising need to know the shape of its users' genitals.
---
*A few definitions:
"Cis-" is a prefix indicating that the person agrees with the gender assigned to them at birth. For example, a person with an M on their birth certificate who identifies as male is a cismale (or cisman).
"Trans-" is a prefix indicating that the person disagrees with the gender assigned to them at birth. For example, a person with an M on their birth certificate who identifies as female is a transwoman.
"Trans*," for the purposes of this essay, is a catch-all term for people whose gender identities do not match up with the gender assigned to them at birth, or do not adhere to the kyriarchy's gender binary. These identities include transgender, transsexual, androgyne, intersex, neutrois, two-spirit, and others.
"Gender binary" is the myth that there are only two genders, male and female, and that people of each gender must adhere to a strict set of rules and behaviors.
"Transgender" is the full-word version of the prefix "trans-."
"Pre-op" is short for "pre-operation" or "pre-operative," and is typically used to describe a trans* person who has not undergone any sex reassignment surgeries such as breast augmentation (the addition of man-made materials to the breasts), mastectomy (removal of the breasts), hysterectomy (removal of the uterus and ovaries), orchidectomy (removal of the testes), vaginoplasty (creation of a vagina), or phalloplasty (creation of a penis).
"Gender dysphoria" is the psychological word for trans*ness; in essence, being uncomfortable with one's assigned gender.
"Body dysmorphia" is, in the simplest terms, hatred of one's body. As it relates to trans* individuals, it usually focuses on the genitals and secondary sexual characteristics (jawline, facial and body hair, hand size, gender-specific distribution of fat, etc.).
"Sex" is generally taken to mean the gender assigned by physical characteristics present at birth. There are at least three sexes; male, female, and intersexed.
"Gender" is how a person self-identifies; male, female, etc. Most people find that their gender and assigned sex are in agreement; some do not.
"Intersex" means that a person's physical sex is not definitively male or female on a biological level; this can present itself in a variety of ways, including ambiguous genitalia or chromosomes other than XX or XY.
---
DISCLAIMER:
I use deviantART. I use y!gallery. This will probably not change in the near future.