On December 18, a 15-second clip of the Twitch streamer firedancer went viral on the social network Twitter/X. The streamer used censorship bars to cover intimate areas of her body. The clip sparked a social media uproar. It is apparently a reference to the zigzagging rules of Twitch regarding nudity. The topic has dominated discussions on the former gaming platform for 3 years.
What kind of clip was it?
- The clip originally appeared on Twitch itself and reached about 400,000 views there.
- However, it went viral through the Twitter account of the US site Dexerto, which closely follows Twitch: The clip received 38 million views on Twitter.
- The clip shows a woman covering her seemingly naked body with censorship bars while laughing. The clip is described as “the new meta” of Twitch. As can be seen in further clips, it is just a gag: The woman is actually wearing clothes under the censorship bars.
We explain the background of the clip at MeinMMO. The video itself, which has caused so much uproar, can be seen here:
“The new Twitch meta”
Here’s the conflict over nudity on Twitch: For many years, before 2020, there were heated discussions about nudity on Twitch: Bans for nudity were more frequent at that time, and it was not clear to the banned female streamers where exactly Twitch drew the line between “This is artistic cosplay and okay” and “This person is showing too much thigh and must be banned“.
Female streamers said, for example: They were banned just because of their large breasts, if they had a different figure, the outfit they wore would be completely fine. But on Twitch, they would be banned for an outfit that they could easily wear in the city.
People wanted clear rules.
Twitch then established these clear rules in 2020, regarding how nudity is allowed on Twitch and what is prohibited. In broad terms, one can say:
- If nudity occurs “naturally” and is socially acceptable, then it is okay: Whoever goes to the beach may wear a bikini and show bare skin, as long as the genital and breast areas are covered.
- If nudity is sexualized, then it is critical and can lead to a ban, especially if buttocks or breasts are in focus of the camera.
However, this rule was early absurdly challenged by streamers like Amouranth, as they simply placed a bathtub in their living room and said: “I’m bathing, so I can wear a bikini.” The era of “hot tub” streams was born.
As a result, there was frequent criticism of Twitch, claiming that they were “too lenient in banning” with regards to nudity towards women:
- In December 2020, a female streamer allegedly appeared completely naked on Twitch by mistake and only received a 3-day ban.
- In contrast, male streamers, it was said, would be punished much more harshly, even for seemingly minor offenses, such as depicting sexual acts graphically:
Conflict over streamer leads Twitch to loosen rules
This was the latest development: A few days ago, Twitch suddenly allowed “artistic nudity” and also the intentional highlighting of breasts, buttocks or pelvis. According to Twitch, the rule change was based on feedback from streamers.
The reason for the change was apparently this clip of streamer Morganpie: The clip suggested nudity without actually violating Twitch’s rules.
However, this new regulation was immediately exploited to draw naked anime figures in the category “Art” and specifically focus on the genitals (via gamestar).
Just a few days later, on December 15, Twitch withdrew this rule change, stating that they had “gone too far” (via twitch).
This was the clip: In this climate, the clip of Firedancer about the new “Twitch meta” appeared, which apparently wanted to test the boundaries of the current regulations.
Here you can see that the streamer Firedancer was actually wearing clothing under the censorship bars:
What are the reactions to the clip? The reactions on reddit to the clip are rather cynically amused, but especially on Twitter, many are rather hostile:
- People write: This is a new low for Twitch. The platform cannot become more “trash.”
- Now 10 to 13-year-old children are likely the main target audience of Twitch.
- “It’s sad how low Twitch has fallen.”
However, while some female streamers are currently testing the boundaries of Twitch, others are now using artificial intelligence and bots, from which viewers can receive messages and photos. MMORPG streamer Asmongold recently reacted to such an example during a stream:
Twitch streamer discovers how provocative women are now earning money in a modern, creepy way
