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Silicon Valley's Sex Censorship Harms Everyone

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Jillian C. York

Ideas
Mar 18, 2022 8:00 AM

Silicon Valley's Sex Censorship Harms Everyone

The post-FOSTA internet often silences sex workers, queer users, and
artists, furthering puritanical ideas about sexuality.

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Collage of images of pole dancer anatomical illustration of vagaina
Twitter sign and sexual open mouth
Photo-Illustration: Sam Whitney; Getty Images

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This story is adapted from Silicon Values: The Future of Free Speech
under Surveillance Capitalism , by Jillian C. York

Bardot Smith calls herself a "corporate finance escapee." Petite and
exuding intellect, she looks the part, but for the past 10 years
she's been involved in a different industry: the precarious world of
sex work. She is also, alongside a growing community of sex workers,
actively challenging Silicon Valley's status quo through research and
activism. I first encountered her work in the form of an essay she
wrote for the critical Silicon Valley publication Model View Culture
in 2014. In it, she argued that "[t]he increasing presence of women's
skill and success represents a challenge to tech culture" and that "
[w]omen's success and agency are in direct conflict with an industry
culture that caters to the priorities--and egos--of males." Her words
resonated and stuck with me.

TopicsBook Excerptcontent moderationpornSocial Mediasexcensorship
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