Introduction to my work
I’ve been doing photography since 1996, evolving to nude photography in 2007 and into erotic photography since 2019.
With the coming of platforms like OnlyFans, the demand for erotic photography increased. I was happy to help out some models, but I decided in 2020 to create my own subscription platform “Sensual-X” to monetize my content as well.
Currently I’m focussed on creating erotic photography and erotic art music videos.
Stop shooting nudity / use other platforms
So straight off the bat, let me address two comments I get often.
So stop shooting nudity, go shoot flowers or something
The reason why I can’t just stop shooting nudity is … well, first of all, because I love doing it. But there are more practical reasons as well. This is the field that I’ve built up my experience in, my knowledge, my network with other creatives and my customer base. It’s like telling a plumber to go bake bread for a living.
Use other platforms
Over the years, I have tried several platforms, like Tumblr, VK, MeWe, Vero, … And I still am active on platforms like Twitter, youtube, vimeo, … But facebook and instagram are still king when it comes to reaching an audience. There is just no substitute.
How it impacts creatives
I started using facebook in 2008, so my whole online life is on there since then. All my images with friends and familiy, all my memories … that is what is at stake every time I get banned.
Because a lot is at stake, over the years I’ve made adjustments to the content that I upload. I didn’t even realize how much I was limiting myself on social media, until I signed up on Twitter. I see how much more powerful and impactful my feed has become on there, because I can post anything I’m proud of. It’s a stark reminder on how facebook’s policies are stifling creativity.
Rules are a minefield
I know some people might view the images below and think “this is nudity! this is porn! Think of the children!”. And you are welcome to your opinion, I’m not saying it isn’t, I’m not saying it is. But when you view these images, I invite you to view them with the rules of facebook in mind and then judge if these images violate facebook’s policies around nudity or not. Go read the details, but the main ones are:
- No visible nipples (Do you see any nipples anywhere?)
- No visible genetalia (Do you see a vagina anywhere?)
- No implicit or explicit intercourse or stimulation of genetalia (Do you see any people having intercourse?)
When I say “no clear rules”, what I actually mean is that the rules ARE pretty clear, but us creatives get blocked and banned, even though we are following the rules and policies of the platforms. This is turning social media into a minefield for us, because any post could be our last. I know loads of models who have been blocked for posting a boudoir, fully clothed image.
Solutions?
Well, look at Twitter. They have successfully added a system that allows you to mark your content as 18+ and allow you to either see or hide that type of content from your feed. Twitter has become one of the last bastions of creative freedom, with a substantial mainstream audience, when it comes to nudity and erotica. I don’t see a reason why giants like facebook and instagram could not follow.
A list of facebook-jail posts
I’ve been blocked so many times now, it’s hard to keep track, so here is a list of all the images and posts I’ve been blocked for. You decide if it was justified or not.
These are only posts on facebook, I am omitting the posts that were removed from Instagram. I will update the list if there are new ones.
September 05, 2022
July 26, 2022
February 28, 2022
Another post removed because of “Spam”. I have no idea why … it was a post to announce my newest video. When I posted the same image, but without the “coming soon”, that post did not get deleted … I’m just TRYING to figure out the logic here …
February 21, 2022
This was just a post to say I had done a new shoot and the results would be uploaded in a few weeks. This post got blocked for being spam. There was a link to my instagram account in the post, but no other links or tags. I did get any restrictions on my account, but I got a warning that restrictions are imminent if I keep posting this type of post.
February 17, 2022
A “coming soon” poster for one of my upcoming videos. There was a really small, blurry nipple in the image, so I even clearly censored that part, even though you could barely make it out. The images still got banned. This image was taken out of my “planned posts”. I planned it and 10 minutes later, the post just disappeared. Only 4-5 days later, I get the notification that this image was in violation of the terms.
To be fair, I got off with a warning, I did not receive restrictions on my account. But still, this feels really unfair.
January 13, 2022
This one got deleted for being “spam”. You can’t see the entire text on this screenshot, but I assure you, there was no link in the post itself and only one of the two models was tagged in the post. I have no idea how they link this post to “spam”.
June 3, 2021
This one got deleted on my Instagram first because of “sexual activity”. I thought it was utterly hilarious … so I posted it on facebook. It got deleted after 3 seconds … I appealed, but got no response.
April 16, 2021
This one was reported for “offering sexual services”. Well, they kind of had a point there. I did post a link where you could buy the full set. So I accepted the decision and in the future, I did not post links anymore to buy the full set.
October 22, 2020
This one, I appealed, and I was sure my strike would be removed, but 2 days later, they still decided this was a “Sexual activity”.
July 19, 2020
This was a VR image that I uploaded. I was blocked for a while because of this, but they did agree with my appeal and freed me from facebook jail.
January 15, 2020
I honestly don’t even remember what the image was here. I just see in my support inbox that I got blocked and that I did accept the decision. I would only do that if my block was only 24 hours and I decided that the image was a “grey area”. I’m sure I did not post anything that was CLEARLY against the terms of service.
December 19, 2020
These two images got reported for nudity, but got put back after I appealed
November 10, 2019
This one got me blocked and during the appeal process, they still decided this was going against their ToS. I do realize the bars are pretty flimsy, but they do actually cover everything. Maybe the hand that was near her crotch would imply to a casual viewer that she was masturbating, but if you look, you can clearly see that her hand is resting on her stomach.
May 8, 2019
I actually don’t remember this one and I can’t see which image it was in my support inbox. I was blocked, I appealed and they did accept my appeal and put the image back
Before 2019
My support inbox does not go further than 2019, so I don’t have dates for the rest of the images.
Yes, a BUTT was showing here … But in all fairness, the ToS clearly say a nude buttcrack is not allowed, so I accepted their decision, it was my own fault.
This was a flyer for one of my workshops. I did censor the image, but black on black was maybe not so clear. I appealed, but never got a response.
I appealed the decision and facebook agreed and put the image back.
This is the story I keep telling friends … I actually got blocked for posting a nude manequin doll … And I understand that if you look for half a second, it’s maybe not clear. So I appealed, I explained that this was not a real person, but facebook still decided it was against their ToS. I was actually blocked for 14 days because of this …
This was my second ever image I got blocked for. The censorship was very limited, but still … it actually covers everything that needs to be covered to abide by the ToS, but facebook never replied to my appeal.
I’m not sure if it was this exact image, but I do remember it was from this shoot. It was the very first image I got blocked for, I think somewhere in 2014. I did think it was unfair, because everything was covered, but I do understand that if you look really quickly the censorship is not very clear. So I keep telling all my fellow photographers and models that blurry censorship DOES NOT work! I appealed the decision, but they never responded.