Last week, Twitch announced changes to its hateful behavior and harassment policies, including banning the use of terms like “simp”, “incel” and “virgin” when used in derogatory ways.
The new policy begins on January 22 and is basically an update to Twitch’s evolving hateful conduct guidelines. To that end, Twitch says it will “ look at the content of any statements or actions to determine if conduct is offensive and violates our guidelines, rather than relying solely on perceived intent, ” suggesting the company hopes to shut down bad actors they feign ignorance of unclear guidelines.
Using terms like ‘simp’, ‘incel’ and ‘virgin’ as an insult – to refer negatively to someone else’s sexual activity – is not allowed under this new policy, ” said Twitch COO Sara Clemens during a Twitch Townhall stream. ‘ In addition to the policy change, we also proactively deny emotes that contain the term ‘simp’. And we will remove them when notified, and we will continue to do so as soon as the policy changes. “
Twitch has also updated its hateful conduct and harassment policy page with a new section on sexual harassment. Twitch notes that sexual harassment can take a variety of forms, including “unwanted sexual advances and solicitation, sexual objectification, or degrading assaults regarding an individual’s alleged sexual practices, regardless of gender.”
Twitch’s policies also include more specific acts of sexual harassment, including messaging a user privately with unwanted compliments about their appearance, claiming that a person is sexually immoral because of their dress or physical appearance, and the aforementioned use of it. word “virgin,” as well as “whore.”
Other notable inclusions are:
-
Humiliating another by accusing him of a sexually transmitted disease.
-
Suggesting someone’s channel is only popular for sexual favors.
-
Using the whisper feature to send unwanted sexual comments to another user.
-
Responding to a person’s sexual prowess or lack thereof.
-
Threats to release revenge pornography.
You can read the full policy here.
Twitch policy states that it will look at the actions of a streamer when considering disciplinary action against another user. This basically means that if a streamer has previously banned you from their channel, timed you out, or previously reported your behavior, it will be added to the case against you if Twitch moderators get involved.
Twitch’s other policies regarding hateful conduct and harassment include rules about posting racially discriminatory language and images.
The word “simp” has become a derogatory term for a man who is overly desperate for the affection of another person, especially a woman. It follows in the footsteps of terms such as “white knight,” which describes a man showing an exaggerated zeal to defend a woman’s reputation. Ironically, “simp” has become somewhat interchangeable, with some people using it as a way to mock any kind of professional or personal admiration.
“Incel” (or “involuntarily celibate”) has had a similar, but not identical trajectory to a blemish. The incel movement began as an online subculture of men expressing frustration at not being able to find sexual or romantic partners, which developed a trend of resentment and misogyny targeting sexually liberated individuals. Like “simp”, it has also become a sort of all-encompassing insult to people who are perceived as sexually impaired.
Joseph Knoop is a writer / producer for IGN.