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While controversy on Twitch is familiar, recent policy tweaks and meta shifts have thrown the platform into a fresh round of turmoil recently. December 8 saw the rise of the “topless” streaming meta after a clip of Twitch streamer Morgpie went viral on Twitter. Morgpie is implied to be topless in the stream as she stands close to the camera with bare shoulders. Three days later, the creator was banned from the platform.
While Twitch has banned female streamers before, this specific incident only fed the flames of an already heated debate. During her ban, Morgpie insisted that “nobody is breaking TO” and that “it’s just implied nudity that really freaks people out.” She went on to allege that she was wearing a low-cut shirt and bottoms the entire time. As such, the debate over what constituted ‘safe’ content on Twitch and adherence to the platform’s guidelines only intensified in the following days.
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Twitch’s Artistic Nude Policy Is Ever-Changing
The Controversy Has Only Further Muddied The Waters
The line between acceptable and suggestive content on Twitch is a long-running debate, with highlights like hot tub streams, low-cut shirts, and body painting typically at the center of attention. In the wake of Morgpie’s viral stream clip, online communities were divided on whether this type of content should be allowed on the platform. Before her ban, some people expressed that they were upset that the art community, alongside VTubers, were often punished for “a little bit of side boob” or boob-resembling emotes when it seemed Morgpie wasn’t going to be penalized.
The line between acceptable and suggestive content on Twitch is a long-running debate.
Following the female content creator’s ban, a wave of outrage swept through the community as some believed Morgpie had not violated any rules. Some even speculated that Twitch might be more stringent in penalizing female-presenting individuals compared to males. For example, some wondered why male streamers like IShowSpeed could stream topless without repercussions.
Twitch Changes Its Policy to Accommodate Artistic Nudity
But It Wouldn’t Last
Twitch updated its TOS on December 13 and lifted Morgpie’s ban. Popular streamer Asmongold stated that he believed the new policy was a “W” since he believes Twitch isn’t and has “never been a safe space for underage people.” The Amazon-owned platform shared a blog post of the updated TOS, alongside the following statement: “We’ve gotten feedback that our policies around sexual content are unclear, so we’ve drawn clearer boundaries between what is and isn’t permitted on Twitch.”
The new rule set emphasized that Twitch felt “female-presenting streamers [were] being disproportionally penalized” and so they were adjusting accordingly. This meant formerly prohibited content would now be allowed, such as but not limited to:
- Fully exposed female-presenting breasts/genitals/buttocks (with label)
- Body writing on female-presenting breasts/buttocks (with label)
- Erotic dances such as strip teases (with label)
- Twerking (without label)
- Grinding (without label)
- Pole Dancing (without label)
Twitch Reverses Its Policy Update Within a Matter of Days
On December 15, Twitch released a statement that effective immediately it would be rolling back the artistic nudity changes. Though it wasn’t directly stated, this may have been due to the influx of nude art on the platform. The Community Guidelines update now states that “moving forward, depictions of real or fictional nudity won’t be allowed on Twitch, regardless of the medium.” How exactly this will affect streamers who were growing comfortable with the former policy is still to be determined. Claims have surfaced that some artistic nudity participants are already facing bans, even though the new policy just took effect.
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