Twitter under fire for censoring bisexual photos
The BBC reports that Twitter is currently not showing photos when users search under the term or hashtag “bisexual.”
READ MORE: YouTube’s Restricted Mode is blocking LGBTQ content
Interestingly, the same censorship doesn't exist for the search terms “gay” or “lesbian.” Critics are likening the event to bi-erasure, the idea that bisexual identities in particular are erased both from popular society and from the LGBTQ+ spectrum.
When #bisexual is searched, a message pops up informing users that there are no results, regardless of whether the “hide sensitive content” option is being utilized.
Confirming that if you search #bisexual and click on photos, there is NOTHING there.
I'm bi. I am a person. My existence isn't offensive.
— Whitney Drake ��✨ (@whitneyd) November 5, 2017
Kate Harrad of the Bisexual Index told the BBC: “Every bi-activist knows the problems of trying to search for bi-content on the web and some public wifi systems block it altogether, even when it's nothing to do with sex, because bisexual is seen as a dodgy word in itself. This is why Twitter needs to be very sensitive to any filtering that reduces access to bi content, and very aware of the problem of bisexual erasure.”
On November 3, Twitter released an updated statement on their rules, including plans to crack down on adult content—whether the censoring of bisexual content falls under this label remains to be confirmed by the company.
