a Tumblr pro-Ana post

Tumblr has decided to change their content policy & user terms to prevent users from having pro-ana (and largely, pro-self harm) blogs in their community. Many thinspo advocates or bloggers are unabashedly upset about the decision, citing this move to be a violation of free speech on their own personal blogs.

But what content or content behaviors constitute thinspo “promotion?” The social media provider is rooting out self-tagged content and self-proclaimed users who themselves can be tagged as pro-ana. But what about those who communicate in the visual form that Tumblr is best known for–sans tags altogether?

You could easily look at my Tumblr and assume that I’m a thinspo advocate simply because I adore fashion editorial photography. And hey, couldn’t we argue that the fashion industry as a whole is largely thinspired? Remember that Karlie Kloss Vogue Italia spread? Speaking of, what about enterprises such as Vogue and its Tumblr?

A Vogue Tumblr post from fashion week

This Vogue post would be called into question with the new content policy, no?

I question how Tumblr will put a stop to the publishing of photography alone that might “glorify or promote anorexia, bulimia, and other eating disorders.“

How will Tumblr take down the source if it’s one of their premium content providers? And how will the individual publishers be monitored? Who will ultimately be the expert that decides if a user has transgressed the content policy? Will there be double standards like there are in the fashion industry?

Pro-ana/pro-mia blogs have been around forever (practically). Hell, I remember them from the days of LiveJournal. Policing this content and these community members remains a challenge. And heads up, Tumblr: we’ll never be able to “save them.”

Part of me appreciates Tumblr’s attempt to be a concerned citizen for its user base. I just wonder how “policing” is the right method in achieving seemingly benign goals. A more anthropological approach might have been considered with the adoption of this policy specifically with this user base in mind. It’s not easy to change western cultural expectations for women and the content that flourishes around them, so banning a “pro-ana” post won’t get to the root of the problem nor will it stop that content from being posted.

A Tumblr post from SHAPE Magazine

It’s a lofty undertaking to try and rid such an incredibly large site of all its subjectively negative content. But this thinspo cleansing has much more serious implications, especially on a platform that allows the dissemination of content from fashion industry sources that themselves are publishers of the content in question. What about ambiguous content like this post from SHAPE Magazine’s Tumblr? Who is to decide if “fitspo” is better or safer? If the end user tags this differently, who is accountable? And how is that user behavior or self-directed tagging to be managed or policed if the content itself is personal and subjective?

The unfolding of the policy’s implementation will paint the full picture, but I am curious if this is a content witch hunt or honest consideration from mindful moderators.

What are your thoughts?




For more references:
The Pro-Ana Movement: Sanctuary and Subculture (by Camilla Schickova)
Tumblr’s Blog
StyleCaster Article
Fashionista.com Article
Huffington Post Article