I admit that I wasn't in the most stable frame of mind when I deleted my long-running (14 years!) Flickr account last spring - as this was shortly after I'd been fired by Patreon. But I stand by my decision to ragequit Flickr, when they announced in March that artists like myself were going to have to start paying to provide them with nude and/or erotic content. I get that they're a business, selling a product, but I have a product to sell, too. If our goals are aligned - driving traffic to their site - and I'm providing the kind of material they're forcing other users to pay to see, then charging me to do that is exploiting my labor. There are other sites on the web where I can do that for free. Some of them will even pay me to generate that content. Why the hell would I continue to patronize Flickr?
I must also admit that I was rather annoyed by the nature of Flickr's announcement - how it was phrased in that disgustingly hypocritical, Orwellian tone that is so common among tech companies these days. Everything is couched in positive language, and the knife they stick in your back is etched with motivational aphorisms. The most common example is censorship resulting from a "deep commitment to free speech" (I kid you not!). Consider how Flickr described their discrimination against nude artists ("reserved for Pro" really means "forced to pay") in the same breath as calling itself the "most inclusive photography community on the planet." For the last few years, the new owners of Flickr threatened to delete users' art if they didn't delete it themselves first - an act that accomplished the opposite of their promoted goal to "preserve the art, expression, history, stories, and memories of all Flickr members". Though this ultimately turned out to be a hollow threat ("we haven't deleted a single photo"), they managed to spin that lie as an investment in the community, ignoring the fact that it effectively punished all those who followed the new rules, while rewarding those who didn't - a business strategy that hardly inspires trust.
To be fair, Flickr made me the artist I am today. Back in 2008, it was their welcoming community and dedication to free expression (including sexual expression) that gave me an open platform to discover - wholly and without limits (within the bounds of reason) - and grow into the kind of artist I wanted to be. I'll always honor and respect that Flickr and think back on it fondly. But Flickr has changed. It's not even owned by the same people anymore. I hate that yet another piece of my history has been lost, at a time when I was also grieving the loss of the home in which I grew up and spent most of my life. So many memories, the concrete records of which have been wiped clear. The comments. The conversations. The journey of self-discovery. (By the way, now there are a ton of broken links on my blog and elsewhere). But that's the way it is. All I can do now is wipe off the tears, and face forward.
I agree with you zharth. A very sad situation, just for the profit and no consideration for the artists. Hope OnlyFans will remain the same and that admirers will follow you there. You are a great artist and deserve more attention. And you are such a nice person too.
ReplyDeleteThanks! All these services are great until they're not. OnlyFans almost banned porn! But, in their defense, they stood up to the banks and made the right decision. Still, I hesitate to lean too heavily on one site because it could vanish tomorrow. Especially creating the content I do, there's so much uncertainty. You can't trust that anyone has your back. Why is it fair for society to treat people like me this way? I'm not evil, I'm just not ashamed of my sexuality - and that's healthy!
DeleteIt is not directed personally towards you but a general movement of the conservative right which brings this current of censorship. Freedoms are attacked and questioned. Everything is associated with pornography. Nudism included. And the attack on abortion. The (unsubstantiated) child porn accusations against porn sites like xHamster and the like are instilling a climate of self-censorship (which is why Flickr once balked and thankfully backed off). This movement of conservatism affects everyone unfortunately. You are a free spirit and it's wonderful to see what you do, your art expressed through photography, the beauty, peace and sensuality shining through your work. Go on, many of us admire you
DeleteYeah, I know it's not personal. But when you're part of a group that gets maligned regularly, you can't help but take it personally. And when you've seen the way things look from the other side, it gets harder and harder to understand why people still cling to their toxic delusions. If life is about the stories we tell each other, then why do we choose to propagate stories that hurt people who don't deserve it? Alas, I'm a fool to look for reason in the workings of the human mind.
Delete-->> As usual I don't have many answers to your continual censorship issues over the years. I've seen it so often nown- it is so unjust and I feel so helpless about it. However Flickr was also where I gained awareness of your work. I was ( and still am a little) quiet about it but it has over time helped me appreciate the mysteries and sexual nuances of art, photography and design. I don't always understand everything nor claim to.. but I do a little more than when I was younger. Hopefully that's growth/ continued growth and a good thing. ~t
ReplyDeleteSounds like a healthy approach. The first step to wisdom is recognizing all that you do not know. Everybody wants to make a stand and propagate an ideology (and I don't doubt I fall victim to this myself), when the smart thing to do is remain skeptical. You don't learn and grow by thinking you already have all the answers. One of my lifelong goals is to show people that there are other ways of thinking about things than what they already know. What's the point of having an imagination if everything is already fixed?
DeleteAgreed ✌🏽✌🏽
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