Twitch Opened the Door to Nudity. It Didn’t Last.

On Wednesday, December 13, Twitch announced that it was changing its sexual content policies. This opened the door for less scrutiny against female streamers creating slightly suggestive content, and it allowed artists to embrace non-sexually explicit nudity on their streams. If you wanted to present a character with “female-presenting nipples,” you could do it, thus officially making Twitch more welcoming for artists than Tumblr.

Under Twitch’s new policy, streamers were allowed to create “content that ‘deliberately highlighted breasts, buttocks, or pelvic region,’ even when fully clothed,” as long as this material was labeled with the “Sexual Themes” Content Classification Label. Fictionalized, completely exposed “female-presenting breasts and/or genitals or buttocks regardless of gender” were also allowed, as well as writing on breasts, and erotic dances.

Twitch also greenlighted twerking, pole dances, and grinding without a content label, “only prohibiting streaming inside of an adult entertainment establishment.” Twitch continued to ban “fictionalized sexual acts” and “masturbation” from both fictional characters and real streamers, and streamers still had to follow attire policies banning nude and partially nude streamers.

So, what happened to Twitch’s revised sexual content policy?

In theory, Twitch’s revised rules seemed like a promising step forward. Erotic performances and eroticized artwork were finally getting a chance to shine on Amazon’s platform, bringing the website back to livestreaming’s roots. Things quickly spiraled out of control, however. Dexerto reported that Twitch viewers were upset by the “Art” category tag, which became oversaturated with artists illustrating nude characters. Meanwhile, some artists faced bans despite claiming they thoroughly followed the guidelines outlined by Twitch, per Dex.

Topless streams quickly took over the platform this week as well, with VTubers in particular reportedly trying to push the envelope with the new rules. According to Twitch’s rules on attire at the time of the new policy, virtual avatars could not be fully or partially nude, and they had to follow attire guidelines for IRL streamers, which had not changed. Perhaps most infamously, popular VTuber Marina hosted a stream “celebrating degeneracy” where she streamed sexually suggestive nude artwork of her VTuber avatar, danced topless with nipples hidden in the middle of the screen, and shared her character fully nude. Marina was banned for a day from the platform for her animated model.

“I was issued a 1 day ban and it was for my model itself in the middle of my screen having ‘inappropriate attire’ and not the nude art on the sides,” she tweeted. “As to why the ban, I’m not sure, as my active model was never naked and never moved higher than the cleavage-up position. I framed it after the IRL streamers that were now protected under the ‘focused camera’ portion of the TOS, to which I followed the Sexual Themes requirements.”

Marina later apologized for her stream, saying she “did genuinely believe” she did not violate the TOS.

In short, enforcement remained just as inconsistent as ever, simultaneously angering streamers who claimed they had not violated the new rules, while some viewers argued the new content allowances were too permissive. Ultimately, Twitch decided to roll back key aspects of the policy on Friday, December 15. Citing “community concern” with content that did not violate Twitch’s new relaxed standards, the streaming platform decided it “went too far” with its new sexual content changes.

“Digital depictions of nudity present a unique challenge–AI can be used to create realistic images, and it can be hard to distinguish between digital art and photography,” Twitch’s Dan Clancy wrote. “So, effective today, we are rolling back the artistic nudity changes. Moving forward, depictions of real or fictional nudity won’t be allowed on Twitch, regardless of the medium. This restriction does not apply to Mature-rated games.”

“While I wish we would have predicted this outcome,” Clancy wrote, “part of our job is to make adjustments that serve the community.”

Twitch has long enforced its sexual content policies poorly

In 2020, Twitch introduced strict guidelines on suggestive content in streams, causing an uproar from both viewers and streamers, as I reported for The Daily Dot at the time. Traditionally, social media platforms that police users’ bodies inevitably punish and deplatform marginalized users.

Marginalized users, specifically Black, fat, and/or LGBTQ+ Instagram users, have historically faced disproportionate censorship on Meta’s website, for example, and similar discrimination has happened on Twitch. In 2021, a trans hot tub streamer was banned for “adult nudity” after a transphobic mob reported her, even though the streamer did not break any rules related to hot tub streaming. Earlier this year, a Black hot tub streamer was also banned for being “sexually suggestive,” despite wearing outfits identical to her white counterparts

“If you’re curvy and Black, you will get treated different by Twitch,” ExoHydraX tweeted. “I’m tired of getting bullied by you Twitch for being Black. I’m tired of you seeing curvy women as more sexual.”

Even gender-nonconforming men face immense pressure to tow the line on Twitch. Several months back, “femboy” streamer F1NN5TER was banned for adjusting his bra, supposedly for engaging in “prolonged touching of female presenting breasts.” F1NN5TER, however, is a cisgender man, and he does not have breasts. The move was seen as essentially policing gender performance on the streaming platform.

It’s understandable why Twitch reversed its sexual content policy. The site simply wasn’t ready for a proper rollout, and not everyone engaged with the new rules in good faith. But harsh restrictions only hurt artists, sex workers, and marginalized streamers. Hopefully, Twitch will find a middle path soon. Otherwise, Twitch will remain yet another site that continues to celebrate white and cisgender streamers while policing trans, Black, and GNC creators.

(featured image: Image by mikkelwilliam/Getty Images