I have just been “cleansing” my Pinterest account from illicit images at their request – “it looks like the pin may have had nudity on it.” Pinterest prohibits content that is “is sexually explicit or contains nudity, partial nudity or pornography…We don’t allow nudity—photos that show breasts, buttocks or genitalia on Pinterest.”
The threats are real – the closing of your account if you do not comply. I understand their reasoning – I have come across some of the most horrible porn on Pinterest which has no right being there.So now we know that I’m not advocating Porntrest… let me puzzle something out with you.
I’ve been trying to figure out what I am “allowed” to keep on my boards like the Goddess, Mother Love and The Happy Womb boards… so for example genitals are not allowed – but how about cupcakes made to look like genitals?
So am I allowed this? It LOOKS like a yoni… but it’s not, it’s an aerial photograph of the Earth!
It’s not to do with being “sexually alluring”, because that happens everywhere with clothes on, that is the norm in our twisted society. Women looking sexual, erotic to sell everything from shower gel to cars. I have already dumped some beautiful goddess woman images before I thought to share them with you here, which because they were bare-breasted, though not in the least “erotic” would come under the ban.
So went for a trawl through Google to find some images… the sort which would be doing the rounds, totally above board, on the likes of Pinterest. There are LOTS of women in figure revealing dresses, underwear and swim wear on the fashion pages…
This would be allowed, because she’s wearing a bra to cover her (evil) breast flesh and nipple. So even though we can see the OUTLINE of her breast shape, and the COLOUR of the fabric is the same as her skin… I’m guessing it’s OK…So when they say no breasts… what I think they mean is no nipples…
Oh, sorry, female nipples...I think we’ve been here before! So this is OK, because he has a penis. (Which we are not allowed to see).
But this would not be OK…
Or this I think…
Because they don’t have a penis. Now the reality is I don’t think ANYONE, male, female, young or old would find these images offensive or sexual. They are simply the human body doing its thing (I guess you could argue sex is too, but usually those images are there to titillate and arouse and are, therefore, “adult”, which is fair enough.)
But – it depends on your medium, because this is OK
Because it’s sculpture. Not REAL flesh. It’s by Rodin. So it’s ART people.
And this…
is just fine too I think. Because it’s a painting… (by a man…)
So it’s just real women’s bodies that are offensive?
Ah, OK! We’re back to that basic argument of women’s flesh is bad methinks! In the digital age, nothing it seems has changed.
The Happy Womb 
I suppose that was going to happen but really I can’t see the offence in your stuff. I hope you won’t have to remove too many of the images on your boards, I love them.
This is so unsettling and something I think we should try to change. Lucy, did you actually get a message from them saying you needed to remove some pins?
Hmmm, this has me thinking. Whenever I get upset about something, I absolutely have to act in response, to try to change the ridiculous! If we arise in numbers from all over Gaia (as Lucy’s Lovelies are worldwide) perhaps PINT will realize how ridiculous and outdated their fear-based justifications are! Let’s boycott pinterest (yes, I know what I’m suggesting … I’m more addicted to pinterest than potato chips), and start a letter campaign with letters of concern.
We could outright deactivate our accounts, but we will lose access to all the posts we’ve pinned and repinned, but pinterest they will keep them for others who have repinned anyway, so perhaps it’s not worth that effort.
Submit a letter of concern here …
https://help.pinterest.com/anonymous_requests/new
Close account directions here …
https://help.pinterest.com/entries/21204781-how-do-i-deactivate-my-account
What do you say?
Oh and Lucy, make sure you PIN this bloody good article, I’ll repin it!
Hey Becky,
I’ve gotten two messages in the past week, this post combines the two of them. The first was not friendly, the second slightly more so. After the first I went through my account and deleted everything I thought they could take issue with. But when they deleted another form my goddess file I went further back through it and found a couple of bare breasted goddess posed photographs which I removed. My understanding is if they are artworks they are allowable.
I was considering sending this to them, but don’t want to kick up too much stink in their face as I adore my Pinterest account and would be very sad to be without it. I am really glad they are FINALLY taking action on the porn on there, it was really out of hand. But I feel like prudishness and basic misogyny influence what is allowable. It’s not “just” their fault, but an issue in Western culture at large, that we allow a bare breasted young woman on page 3 of UK national daily newspapers as “a bit of fun” to titillate the male population, but a breastfeeding woman is offensive on Facebook… I will pin it, and thank you for doing so to. Oh sod it, I’ll send it to them too. Thanks for getting fired up about it!
Usually art is fine with me. I’ve never actually come across breastfeeding pictures while browsing, but I wouldn’t report them if I had. I tag things that I am uncomfortable in seeing, such as pictures of people engaging in sexual activity. I am of the opinion that everyone is entitled to their own sexual preference, but places like Pinterest are not the place to share them.
Fabulous blog, so true and really crazy when put as you have done. I guess the argument is actually funny as its so ridiculous, so pointless and so limiting with backward reality’s. We can mimic breasts, womanly shapes and gentiles just not ACTUALLY see them … hmmmmm….
Totally, Sile! It’s madness.