Twitch Streamers Push the Envelope With Black Censor Bars

LOS ANGELES—Twitch streamers are still reeling after the Amazon-owned live streaming platform walked back an “artistic nudity” policy two days after it completely revamped its sexual content policy to accommodate the “topless” meta. Twitch streamers who also double as OnlyFans models or adult content creators are dancing around Twich's trust and safety boundaries by going live fully nude but with a black censor bar covering their breasts and genitals. At the time of this writing, AVN has reviewed several streams of popular creators interpreting the topless black censor bar meta in their own way. A streamer going by Firedancer reportedly kicked off the new variation of the meta, according to a Dexerto report. Amouranth, who typically streams on Kick and the NSFW Jerkmate platform, also reprised her position as a top Twitch streamer appearing with two black boxes of fabric or paper attached to clear lingerie.  Jen Foxxx and Erica Ray appeared in a joint stream naked with the black censorship bars watching videos. Morgpie, the Twitch streamer and Pornhub Award-winning creator who sparked controversy over appearing to be topless, streamed the same as she was when she was banned by Twitch and the platform amended its policy.  A meta, in Twitch parlance, refers to a trend for live streamers on the platform. The topless meta, predating the hot tub meta popularized by Amouranth and other performers, has gained notoriety. According to the online database Know Your Meme, the “topless meta” or the “thot meta” is a trend on the site that “involves mostly female streamers broadcasting while they are seemingly naked, showing only a cropped frame above their breasts.” This is done to circumvent Twitch’s terms and conditions while driving viewers and earnings.  AVN reported that Twitch issued a new sexual content policy that expanded the opportunity for streamers—particularly female streamers—to post mature content with the appropriate labeling. One element of the policy update, issued on December 13, was the permission to post “artistic” depictions of nudity and sexual behavior, including art, animation and a variety of fictional styles.  On December 15, the Twitch trust and safety team chose to draw back the artistic nudity portion of the new sexual content policy.  Allie Awesome, an adult performer herself and the director of talent recruitment for NSFW live streaming platform ePlay, told AVN that she is confused over creators pushing the boundaries of a mainstream platform like Twitch. "Everyone wants to play sex worker without the stigma of being an actual sex worker," she said. "Enjoy your little censorship bars, normies."