Porn bans, purges, and rebirths: the biopolitics of platform death in queer fandoms

Abstract

Queer transformative media fandoms have experienced multiple platform deaths due to “adult” content bans that remove queer content because it is considered “not safe for work” or pornographic. Such bans are biopolitically charged because they effectively regulate and erase queer sexualities and genders. Newer fan-created or moderated platforms such as Archive of Our Own (AO3) and Discord receive credit for rescuing queer fanworks and communities. These platforms are developed and used in direct response to content bans, and they therefore maintain a reputation for including queer people and their works. However, biopolitics continue to perpetuate marginalisation within newer fandom spaces because they ignore inequities that intersect with sexuality and gender. In particular, platforms like AO3 and Discord continue to perpetuate racism in fandom. Using data from interviews with queer fans and platforms’ features and policy statements, this paper traces how platform deaths and rebirths both respond to and perpetuate biopolitics throughout queer fandoms online.

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