NEW YORK — Tumblr has introduced a new feature enabling users to label posts as featuring “sexual themes,” defined as content which “contains sexually suggestive subject matter, such as erotic writing or imagery.”

The news was shared via a post on Tumblr’s staff blog and first flagged by tech news site Mashable.

Mashable reporter Elizabeth de Luna posited that the new development could be the first indication of the platform shifting back towards the toleration of NSFW material that characterized its heyday.

“After a 2018 ban led to a notoriously devastating exodus from the microblogging site, users were tickled to notice a few interesting turns of phrase in a platform update,” de Luna wrote.

According to Tumblr, the new “Community Labels” system was developed so that the platform’s users could “fully express themselves while also having control over what they encounter on their dashboards.”

“In your ‘Content you see’ settings,” Tumblr announced, “you can now choose to show, blur, or hide content that depicts the following topics:

• Drug and alcohol addiction: Contains discussions of substance abuse or addiction experience.
• Violence: Contains violent or graphic content similar to what you might see in an age-restricted movie.
• Sexual themes: Contains sexually suggestive subject matter, such as erotic writing or imagery.”

As an example of “sexual themes,” the post cited “fan art of your favorite ship engaging with each other in… a very private moment.”

Once labeled, Mashable explained, “content will either be hidden, blurred, or displayed normally according to each user’s preferences.”

Tumblr included a notice that “porn bots are still not welcome” and emphasized that the site will continue to “abide by App Store rules” by restricting access to minors.

LOS ANGELES — Chaturbate gets a shoutout in the track “Pogo” from Diplo and bbno$, which was released over the summer with an accompanying music video.

The fourth verse of the song includes the lyrics, “Brain so good, I don’t want to educate/I made Pornhub, you use Chaturbate.”

“The mainstream reach of Chaturbate never ceases to amaze us, but we are obviously over the moon to have such well-known performers give us a shoutout,” said Chaturbate COO Shirley Lara. “To be immortalized in a song, isn’t that the dream?”

American DJ Diplo co-founded and led electronic music group Major Lazer, and has worked with Sia, Mark Ronson and DJ Skrillex; bbno$, pronounced “Baby No Money,” is a Canadian rapper best known for collaborating with American rapper Yung Gravy.

Visit Chaturbate online and follow the company on Twitter.

LOS ANGELES — Vixen Media Group has signed Vanna Bardot to an exclusive contract for Slayed, the company’s all-girl studio imprint.

To date, Bardot has performed in 14 VMG releases across the company’s brands, including Slayed, Blacked, Blacked Raw and Deeper. Most recently, she starred opposite Lika Star in Slayed’s “Gloss,” released last week.

“I’ve always deeply admired everything that VMG produces. When I heard Slayed was going into production, I was more than just excited. I knew that it would be next-level,” Bardot said. “To be a part of the initial launch of the site was such an honor, but when I was asked if I would be interested in becoming an exclusive Slayed contract star, I couldn’t believe it. ‘Thrilled’ would be an absolute understatement. I feel so incredibly happy and proud to represent such an iconic brand.”

VMG casting director Mike Moz enthused about the signing.

“Vanna Bardot is a highly-regarded top model in the adult industry and an absolute fan favorite,” he said. “It’s an honor to have an A-lister like Vanna sign exclusively with Slayed to take its all-girl scenes to new levels with her creative energy. Between her bold passion and confident, sexual performances, she provides another layer of chemistry to Slayed’s scenes and we look forward to contributing towards her continued success.”

For more information, visit Vixen Media Group online and follow Bardot and Slayed on Twitter.

NEW YORK — Led by Pornhub, a group of adult content creators, companies, organizations and sex workers have co-signed an open letter to Mark Zuckerberg, Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri and other Meta staffers, condemning what the signers label as Instagram’s discriminatory moderation practices.

Here is full transcript:

Dear Mark Zuckerberg, Adam Mosseri, Nick Clegg, Jennifer Newstead —

We, the undersigned, represent those in the adult industry that have for years been undermined by Instagram’s opaque, discriminatory and hypocritical enforcement of its own Terms and Policies.

Sex workers and performers have been unfairly targeted in the form of bans, shadow bans, suspensions, loss of Live privileges and content removal, despite taking extra care not to violate Instagram’s Community Guidelines. Three weeks ago, Pornhub’s official verified account was disabled with no reasonable justification.

We demand an explanation and guidance as to why our accounts are continuously deleted, and why content we spend money creating in order to engage with our audience is removed, even when we do not breach any of Instagram’s rules. The livelihoods of independent creators are harmed by Instagram’s reckless and discriminatory behavior. The platform, despite its careless treatment of an already marginalized group, is a vital marketing tool for those in the adult industry. Denying us an ability to promote our brands and grow our businesses while continuously erasing, silencing, and censoring the presence of sex workers and adult brands is violent and profoundly damaging. Combined with the regular financial discrimination those in the adult industry face, it is dangerous and threatening to our livelihoods.

We demand fair treatment on Instagram for adult performers, sex workers, and any compliant adult business, including Pornhub. While mainstream brands and celebrity accounts frequently feature nudity and overt sexuality with no repercussions, our fully PG accounts are regularly banned without adequate explanation. Pornhub’s safe-for-work account has been disabled for two weeks. In the interim, Kim Kardashian has posted her fully exposed ass to her 330 million followers without any restrictive action from Instagram. We are happy to see that Kim and the artistic team behind the image are free to share their work on the platform, but question why we are denied the same treatment. While Kim’s photo continues accumulating likes and making headlines, members of the adult community run the risk of deplatforming if Instagram decides our pants look a bit too tight to meet its arbitrary and selectively-enforced “standards.”

We demand that Instagram immediately end all discrimination toward those involved in the adult industry. This means providing full transparency and clear explanations for any suspended or banned accounts, ending shadow banning practices, and immediately reinstating all accounts, including Pornhub, that have not violated any of Instagram’s Terms and Policies.

Respectfully,

Pornhub and other signatories.

Signatories include the Free Speech Coalition, APAG, Riley Reid, Adriana Chechik, Ricky Johnson, Johnny Sins, Abella Danger, Violet Myers, Britney Amber, Lucy Hart, Joanna Angel, Aubrey Kate, Casey Calvert, Holly Randall, Keiran Lee, Wolf Hudson, Kira Noir, Natassia Dreams, Asa Akira, Dante Colle, Cherie DeVille, Abigail Mac, Alana Evans and many others.

Meta Replies Through the New York Post

Pornhub, which recently saw its Instagram account disabled, made the letter available to the New York Post. The Rupert Murdoch-owned tabloid, which consistently platforms the views of War on Porn crusaders, obtained a reply from Meta reps.

A Meta spokesperson told the Post “that Pornhub had repeatedly violated the app’s rule against ‘sexual solicitation.'”

The spokesperson added that Meta’s definition of “sexual solicitation” includes “encouraging users to leave Instagram and visit a porn site,” implying that the very name of Pornhub’s account might be considered such an invitation and grounds for removal.

Instagram declined to tell the Post “exactly how many violations Pornhub had racked up but said it had warned the site multiple times over the past decade that it had violated community guidelines.”

“We’ve permanently disabled this Instagram account for repeatedly violating our policies,” the Meta rep told the paper, adding that Pornhub’s ban “is permanent.”

Professional anti-porn crusaders like religiously-inspired lobby NCOSE — formerly Morality in Media — celebrated Pornhub’s deplatforming, taking credit for the removal and permanent ban of the site’s account.

Meta did not respond to specific complaints in the letter, such as why “Kim Kardashian has posted her fully exposed ass to her 330 million followers without any restrictive action from Instagram,” while sex workers continue to be penalized for similar content.

LOS ANGELES — The Daily Beast published Saturday the latest opinion piece by Cherie DeVille, titled “Why Dating Is Hell for So Many Porn Stars — Thanks to Dating Apps,” exploring the discrimination many adult performers suffer when attempting to use dating apps.

In the 21st century, DeVille writes, “most people meet partners on dating apps.” However, when she reached out to adult performers and other sex workers about their dating stories, she received “an onslaught of stories about Tinder and other platforms outright banning sex workers simply because of their occupation.”

“Nearly every sex worker has stories about dating apps deplatforming them for their occupations,” DeVille recounts. “Technology companies are making it difficult for sex workers to chat, let alone find a romantic life partner.”

“I mentioned once in a conversation on Tinder that I was involved in sex work,” April Kelly told DeVille. “The next time I opened it, my account was given a warning. From that point forward, attempts at having a Tinder led to accounts being deleted. I moved to Bumble, and it happened even faster. In short, various breadcrumbs made it clear being a sex worker wasn’t ‘OK’ with Tinder.”

According to DeVille’s informal research, the issue has increased in recent years. 

“Sex workers are facing the most censorship since the 1980s,” she concludes. “At the same time, Americans are more obsessed with sex work than ever. I’ve dealt with multiple scam artists impersonating me on dating apps and other social media sites, conning men out of money. Dating apps have handled the problem by—you guessed it!—deplatforming porn stars. Multiple girls report dating apps booting them from a platform because the algorithm believes they’re a catfish. Yet catfishers continue to proliferate.

“Everyone’s allowed to be us except ourselves.”

To read “Why Dating Is Hell for So Many Porn Stars—Thanks to Dating Apps,” visit The Daily Beast.

Main Image: Cherie DeVille (Photo: Gustavo Turner)

AUCKLAND, New Zealand — A New Zealand government study on youth and porn has received a “gold distinction” at the 2022 ESOMAR Research Effectiveness Awards.

The Toronto-based ESOMAR awards recognized the work of public research company Kantar Public, which was hired by the New Zealand government agency Te Mana Whakaatu — which classifies films and other media — and by the Collaborative Trust, which focuses on youth health and development.

The research, a rep noted, “informed a number of projects that support young people, parents, teachers, health care workers and those working with youth to change the conversation around pornography using a youth-centered approach.”

The ESOMAR awards attracted over 50 entries from more than 20 countries.

Using the research, the New Zealand Ministry of Education and other agencies collaborated to create a teaching module on “Changing the Conversations Around Pornography,” helping teachers more effectively “talk about pornography with young people when delivering relationships and sexuality education,” the rep noted.

The Ministry of Education “also used the research to update the curriculum guidelines for relationship and sexuality education.”

“These teaching tools enable New Zealand children and young people to have constructive conversations about what they see,” the rep added.

The Worldwide Phenomenon of ‘Keep It Real Online’

The same government research was also used in crafting the popular “Keep it Real Online” ad campaign that went viral worldwide in 2020.

As XBIZ reported, “Keep It Real Online” quickly grabbed international headlines with a cheeky PSA reminding adults that pornography is designed to be fantasy entertainment and should not replace proper sex education.

The commercial opens with a naked man and woman, Derek and Sue, knocking on a woman’s door. “We’re here ’cause your son just looked us up online,” explains Sue. “We usually perform for adults. But your son’s just a kid. He might not know how relationships actually work.”

The concerned mother rallies. “All right,” she tells her son. “It’s time to have a talk about the difference between what you see online and real-life relationships.”

“No judgment,” she adds.

The “Keep it Real Online” campaign, Kantar Public New Zealand Co-Managing Director Jocelyn Rout explained, “was the publicly visible tip of the iceberg of how the research has been applied to to break down the taboos around talking about youth and porn — the goal set by David Shanks, then Chief Censor, when he commissioned the research in 2018.”

“Our research also played a key role in sexual and public health experts, the Light Project, securing funding to deliver a national youth and porn stakeholder response in New Zealand,” Rout added.

Classification Office Research Lead Henry Talbot said that the unusual youth-centered approach was devised because “reports and articles we’d seen often came from an adult perspective and so didn’t necessarily reflect young people’s own experience and views about porn. So we decided to put young people front and centre of the debate — and given the opportunity they didn’t hold back.”

Rout added, “When we authentically engage with young people in a safe environment, they will reciprocate with extraordinary candor and insight. This research has led to a more consistent and comprehensive approach to education on porn both inside and outside of the classroom, as well as the development of critical thinking skills in younger children as they navigate the digital environment.”

Sep 26, 2022 4:01 PM PDT

NEW YORK — Live VR cam platform Dreamcam, in partnership with Stripchat, will host the “VR CyberPorn Show: Oktoberfest” on Friday at 8 a.m. (PDT).

Daniel Golden, VP of Dreamcam, enthused about the upcoming event.

“The three-hour-long VR show will outstrip all expectations: you can play the dirty in your own style: use the crazy menu to choose between numerous actions, including fingering, domi, licking feet, and a huge double dildo,” said Golden.

“And get the lube handy,” he added.

Some of the cam stars to be featured are _KoraxLens,  BerryBlondy, and Hello_Emma_.

Visit Dreamcam and Stripchat.

Follow Dreamcam and Stripchat on Twitter. 

LOS ANGELES — The deadline for pre-nomination entries for the 2023 XBIZ Awards, the adult industry’s biggest night, is Friday at midnight, PDT.

Industry professionals must be registered members of XBIZ.net to submit pre-noms.

To be eligible for nomination, movies and pleasure products must be released between Oct. 1, 2021 and Sept. 30, 2022.

Links to digital content, marketing material and/or website access information must be provided via the submission form.

Covering the most extensive and inclusive range of fields in adult, the 21st annual XBIZ Awards will serve as the crown jewel finale to XBIZ’s winter events series, including X3 Expo set for Jan. 13-14, 2023.

Click here for a complete list of award categories.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Southern Baptist church leaders are blaming their difficulties staffing youth pastor positions not on any lack of appeal due to anachronistic dogma, racial divisions or sex abuse scandals, but on “the proliferation of pornography.”

Earlier this month, the Baptist Paper — a leading news and opinion source for members of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), one of the largest Christian denominations in the United States — published a piece online headlined, “Youth Pastor Shortage Leaves Churches Scrambling to Fill Key Role.”

According to its own statistics, the SBC is the largest Protestant group in the U.S. and the second-largest Christian denomination in membership, surpassed only by the Roman Catholic Church.

“Pastors in general are in short supply these days, and the data proves it,” wrote David Roach of the Alabama-based Baptist Paper. “But some youth ministry experts suspect the student pastor shortage is even more severe.”

Roach quotes Larry Hyche of the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions as saying that he warns churches seeking student pastors “that it could be a year or two to find a good candidate for your church — especially if you’re looking for a full-time student pastor.”   

Roach then speculates that “the proliferation of pornography” may be fueling the shortage of youth pastors. 

Dubious Statistics from Covenant Eyes

To back his contention, Roach cites a statistic from “the ministry Covenant Eyes,” asserting that “57% of teenagers search out pornography at least monthly.”

As XBIZ reported — and Wired exposed last week — Covenant Eyes is less a ministry than a Michigan-based niche software company that installs surveillance software marketed as “porn filters” through a network of churches.

The Baptist Paper article then claims without attribution that “one in five youth pastors — and one in seven senior pastors — use porn on a regular basis,” and suggests that “those who recruit young adults to student ministry say porn addictions make many feel unworthy to answer the call to ministry.”

‘First Cast out the Beam Out of Thine Own Eye’ (Matthew, 7:5)

As XBIZ reported, in 2020 two important religious leaders advised Southern Baptists to spend more time “fighting pornography” rather than debating church doctrine, the SBC’s history of white supremacy or cases of sexual abuse by clergy.

Southern Baptist leaders have compared the current War on Porn — and particularly the Exodus Cry-driven attack on Pornhub — to the early church’s fight against “pagan culture.” SBC leaders have called for state censorship of all pornography, labeling the adult industry’s constitutionally-protected exercise of free speech “an individual private indulgence” that combines “sexual abuse and trafficking.” 

Sep 26, 2022 3:02 PM PDT

LOS ANGELES — Lady Lazarus is starring in a new scene from Reality Kings, “Tattoo Tang,” opposite Dwayne Foxx.

“Watch her roleplay as a tattoo artist, which she remarks is a ‘dream come true’ — jokingly, as she tattoo apprenticed without ever tattooing 10 years ago,” said a rep.

Other scenes she’s shot recently include “The Cameltonians” for AltErotic, two trans scenes for FemTop, and a DP scene with Don Prince and Majiik Montana.

Watch “Tattoo Tang” here and follow Lazarus on Twitter.