The covers are coming off on Twitch: From now on, nudity, genitalia and other questionable content are no longer a problem
The days when Twitch mainly stood for gaming, Let’s Plays and esports are now finally numbered. The streaming platform has adjusted its guidelines for dealing with sexual content and now allows more diverse content
New guidelines allow erotic content
The latest changes include allowing a lot of content that was previously considered taboo. According to the new Twitch guidelines the following is now allowed when streamers mark their channel as for adults
- Targeted highlighting of the chest, bottom or pelvic area (was previously forbidden even when clothed).
- Reason: Streamers found it difficult to determine what was prohibited and what was allowed, and often the judgment of whether or not a stream violated this part of the policy was subjective. Further, the previous policy for sexually suggestive content was not in line with industry standards and resulted in female streamers being disproportionately penalized.
- Fictional (drawn, animated or modeled) depictions of breasts and/or genitalia, regardless of gender.
- Reason: There is a thriving artist community on Twitch, and this policy was overly punitive and did not reflect the importance of the content.
- Body paint and lettering, including breasts and buttocks.
- Reason: The Twitch Clothing Guidelines already allow body painting on breasts and buttocks, so this change makes the guidelines consistent.
- Erotic dancing, including striptease.
- Popular dance styles such as twerking, grinding and pole dancing, which are now allowed without special labeling.
Angela Hession, Chief Customer Trust Officer at Twitch, explained that the policy update was in response to constant feedback from streamers.
The previous distinction between sexually suggestive
and sexually explicit
content has been removed to create a more consistent policy. However, Twitch clarifies that content that focuses on sex games, sexual violence or pornography is still strictly prohibited.
Erotic actress triggers Twitch controversy
The adjustments follow the case of controversial streamer Morgpie, who describes herself as an award-winning sprinkler system
and also makes her money on OnlyFans and other relevant sites.
Morgpie was banned from Twitch last week after discovering a new way to suggest nudity to her viewers when she was actually clothed.
What is going on at Twitch? pic.twitter.com/NeDxnS56BR
– Dexerto (@Dexerto) December 8, 2023
Situation on Twitch escalates immediately
The new freedoms are immediately used by the streamers. The Art category in particular is currently almost unrecognizable, with the currently most viewed streamers invariably drawing naked anime characters, sometimes with spread or erect genitals – all permitted under the guise of art
Some go even further and use AI software such as Stable Diffusion to generate images in which the same content is depicted photorealistically. However, as these are not real people, but to a certain extent also art
this also appears to be permitted.
The question of how far Twitch will go in allowing such content remains open There is already fierce debate on social networks: While many fans worry that Twitch could completely lose its focus on gaming content, others are calling for the streaming portal to simply take the final step now and set up a genuine adult category
However, it’s not quite that straightforward, as Twitch would risk being kicked out of the Android and iOS stores. On the other hand, you can also find almost endless amounts of uncensored content on numerous social media apps such as Reddit and X.
Your opinion is needed: Is Twitch’s new approach to artistic nudity a positive step towards diversity or is the platform overstepping important boundaries? Should the streaming platform open up even further in the future or respond to the current situation with adapted guidelines? Let us know your opinion in the comments.
