Dist By Pinterest

As I’ve shared in previous posts, like when Facebook spanked me for my art that was posted on FB for ten or twelve years, or when Google age-restricted my YouTube art in process videos that had also been live for years, their websites are their sites, and they set the rules. I completely understand that.

But I object to the misclassification of my art. Their guideline lists fetish imagery, vivid sexual descriptions, graphic depictions of sexual activity, and images of nudity where the poses, camera angles, or props suggest pornographic intent. Respectfully, my art is none of that, and I take offense that my artworks are anything other than that celebrating timeless beauty. I submit that if anyone or any social sharing platforms see anything beyond my intentions as an artist, they may want to seek help in resolving their deviant mindset. I say this half-jokingly since plenty of imagery on Pinterest (along with the others) violates the terms outlined in their email.

If you click the Community Guidelines link in their email, it takes you to the Community Guidelines section of their site for Adult Content; it pretty much says the same thing as the letter, with the addition of this paragraph…

We do our best to differentiate between pornography and other mature content. For example, you can save content about sexual health, breastfeeding, mastectomies, art, education, and well-being with adult nudity given the non-pornographic context, but we may limit its distribution so people don’t run into it accidentally.

Pinterest Privacy Policy

Their policy rules mention ART, sandwiched between mastectomies and education. My paintings are art created by hand. I shouldn’t have to say that in words. Pinterest should know that if they only took the time to look before censoring.

Beyond the blatant insult awarded by Pinterest, it’s considerably annoying that they don’t even tell you which image is of concern; for all I know, they are offended by the color blue. But then, they say, “Please take some time to go through your Pins and remove any that may violate our Community Guidelines, or we may take additional action on your account.” If I don’t believe that I am in violation in the first place, how am I to self-censor my art?

Fortunately, there is always the submit an appeal option, which is pointless since I don’t even know what I’m appealing. One-click of the link does nothing that I can see (except to have inspired this post). I’ll keep you informed should I find myself pleasantly pleased with a reasonable outcome. I do not expect to receive any form of apology.

Their standards have changed; mine hasn’t.