Education
Sexual Identity and Emojis with Modern Culture Norms on Facebook and Instagram
Instagram and Facebook have been quietly updated on their platforms since September their Community Standards on sexual behaviour. This has recently culminated in stricter rules for people who use the platforms to advertise any kind of sex work, publish sexual content and provide clearer language for nakedness.
Now the new legislation tackles the notorious ban of women's nipples, which has sparked outrage regarding men's nipples.
As was seen during the marches outside the headquarters of Facebook in June2019, men's nipples were being used for covering women's nipples to protest the policies of the technology giant. The change in the Community standards now prohibits the use of emojis, human body images or other photos to cover the parts of the body.
Some emojis, especially eggplant and peach emojis, which are often used to portray sexual activity, are newly included in the Community standards.
The use, supposedly a subjective premise, of these emojis within a sexual environment can lead to a ban.
In addition, digital art and illustration are also exposed to repressions of contents that include or depict any sexual activity, such as pictures of fetishes and tinkles, any form of penetration or masturbation, and arousal representations.
The new policies of Facebook and Instagram also address sex workers who use the platforms to advertise their services. Community standards are an incentive for 'sexual solicitation' by further restricting the sexual content and advertising sex workers can share.
All offers for sexual services and links to adult websites, increase the chances of sex workers being banned. This includes all sex services.
