Twitch has temporarily banned the streamer ShyBear. She cannot understand the ban at all: After all, she was fully clothed. She urges the platform to be more like competitor Mixer.
This is why the ban is so controversial: The streamer showed a picture of herself playing Monopoly in a dark, form-fitting top.
She says she was banned for this outfit because it was sexually suggestive. The streamer cannot handle this at all. She wore this outfit throughout the entire stream and maintained this position.
She asks how this outfit can be considered “sexually suggestive” and worthy of a “ban.” There are people who wear much worse things, and Twitch employees are in their channels, thus endorsing their outfits.
The 26-year-old streamer and Twitch partner from Virginia feels unfairly treated and is looking for answers.
Twitch should be more like Mixer
This is the demand: The streamer is upset with Twitch. They would never respond to emails or tweets regarding bans. Twitch should be much more transparent about their rules.
They should be more like Mixer. This is Microsoft’s streaming platform that competes with Twitch. They might be even more conservative than Twitch, but at least they have clear rules.
ShyBear says the rules of Twitch are ridiculous:
- It is allowed to wear swimwear as long as you do it by a pool
- But a “normal shirt” that you can buy in a “regular clothing store” is against the rules
Apparently, ShyBear was banned because her shirt was too transparent. She is aware of this, but still, others on Twitch walk around “MUCH worse,” as she says.
This is what it’s about: This is the problem that has been plaguing Twitch for several months now. The rules for “What is allowed and what is not?” are unclear. The CEO of Twitch stated in September 2019 that it always depends on the larger context . Yet this is precisely what is being questioned.
Body painters thought they were safe because Twitch considered it an art form. But in February 2020, a body painter was banned and Twitch clarified that the breast must always be fully covered.
Furthermore, some rules also seem unclear, and it is a “case-by-case” decision which outfit and behavior are still okay and within the rules, and which behavior can lead to a temporary ban:
- So a cosplayer was banned because she appeared as Chun-Li and apparently looked too sexualized
- the streamer Alinity, who outraged some viewers, has not faced any trouble with Twitch
