… asking about their stance on “promoting bad health”. I’m done arguing with confused kids on the road to killing themselves, so this is my last action on the matter, hoping to see tumblr make some positive steps towards checking up on what they allow on their site.
Subject: “Dangerous Blogging; Promoting Bad Health”
Hi there,
I’ve just been looking through your content policy and ToS in hope of finding somewhere that states tumblr does not allow its site to be used to condone bad health, people hurting themselves, or potentially accidentally killing themselves.
I would like to think “libelous, defamatory, abusive, threatening, harassing, hateful, offensive or otherwise violates any law or right of any third party”, taken from your ToS would somewhat cover it, but not sure it does.
Let me get to my point…
If someone was to report a tumblr blog for posting things like “let’s all cut ourselves” and constantly encourages people to do so, I imagine that would fall in breech of your ToS somewhere, right? Promoting self-harm I’m sure is more than “frowned upon” by law so one would imagine this would not be tolerated.
Now… on this presumption, I would like to ask why 100’s (if not 1000’s) of your blogs are allowed to have underweight, malnourished, ill teenagers (and in some cases adults) promoting diets that would put someone in hospital after a couple of weeks. There are blogs on your site that have people who are already dangerously thin posting pictures of themselves and others with rake-thin bodies complaining about how they need to lose more weight, along with posting some SCARY vital statistics, followed by statements of how they have been starving themselves and ending up in hospital as a result… all while telling others “this is how to look good… this is what YOU need to do”.
To take us back to the “let’s all cut ourselves” analogy that I’m sure you would not like on your site; That’s not even as bad as half of these people mentally and physically hurting themselves through practical starvation. Flesh wounds might leave cuts and scars, but not eating can kill someone… especially those on your site who are young enough to get emerged in this on-going problem.
Now I fully understand that this is a problem for the internet as a whole, not just tumblr… but on YOUR site I would at least like some kind of acknowledgement that this kind of behaviour will not be tolerated and those blogs that are blatantly harmful to many many people will be at least examined and possibly removed. If you are unaware of this, I would like to guide you to blogs that regularly speak of “thinspiration” or “thinspo”, as it’s called. Where some people admittedly just want to be thin, which is fine… but many many others push this to limits that are extremely harmful… and these are the blogs I’m referring to.
Thanks for your time,
Carl Connor (http://carlconnor.tumblr.com/)
I have no expectations… but I can hope.
***edit: And by the way, feel free to reblog this letter to your followers. If enough people are aware of the problem and get in touch with tumblr, they’ll have to listen.***
(via skinnyylove, removeyourstomach)
I’m reblogging this, merely to make a note of it. A more relevant photo could not appear on my dash if it had my name on it saying “CARL, THIS IS A PHOTO TO VISUALISE EVERYTHING YOU SPOKE ABOUT IN YOUR LETTER TO TUMBLR”.
This photo has passed through a number of thinspo blogs… confirming my thoughts that there isn’t much of a difference between the “starve myself thin” and “cut myself” frame of minds of some people on tumblr.
For those of you unaware of what I’m referring to, see here: http://carlconnor.tumblr.com/post/815920733/so-i-sent-a-letter-to-tumblr
http://carlconnor.tumblr.com/post/815920733/so-i-sent-a-letter-to-tumblr
I’m sure I’ll get attacked for this, but I really feel the need to write my opinion on this letter. These are my opinions, so don’t go and throw a bitch fit.
I understand the things this letter is saying, but I don’t…
Again, someone who fails to read the full letter.
NOBODY is suggesting tumblr needs to ban every blog about eating disorders. In fact, as the writer of said letter, I encourage blogs about eating disorders.
Notice the key word there… “about” them… not glorifying them… or making people think it’s okay to starve… or advertising diets that will, repeat, WILL put someone in hospital, or worse.
You say you don’t have an ED, yet tell us of your daily intake of just a few hundred calories while working hard on the bicycle to cut offf at least 120 of those calories in a recent blog entry… leaving you with a couple of hundred calories to getyou through a whole day… about 10% of what a normal body needs, and even if you’re a small girl, at most it’s only about 20%. You REALLY sure you’re in a position to defend these blogs now?
Also, i MUST point out that this blog is “liked” by tumblr user “fuckyeahstarve”. I mean, seriously… Need I say more?
You say “only” 2% of 1200 followers condone eating disorders? That’s at least 24 people you know who push bad health onto people. That not enough for you to cause concern?
It’s those 24 (that are noticed by just one person) who need to go, along with the 100’s of others that can be found by 1000’s of other members if they just open their eyes and look at these disgraceful blogs.
Again… nobody is complaining about blogging about eating disorders… we’re complainigng about promoting them. This is an excellent place for people to tell their stories and help each other… and that’s what I do myself… so I would never in a million years try to take that from anyone.
This is one of the current “popular” reblogs going around tumblr. Is this photoshopped, or have we found our ultimate reason for sorting this shit out?
Taken from here, thanks to whatjeanlikes for alerting me to it. Didn’t want to reblog it after reading some of the “am I the only one who likes this?” or “Is it bad that I don’t think this is disgusting, sick, or anything in that manner?” type of comments.
Personally, I think it’s photoshopped, for 2 reasons…
- Where are her organs?
- How would someone like this be able to stand, yet alone stand and take a photo or themselves?
Either way… it’s horrifying. Apologies to those who get queasy.
So this is the world that we live in. It’s so American, if you think about it. We do everything we do at full throttle. Either we’re stuffing our mouths full of Super-Size fries or we’re eating hardly anything and posting pictures of sickly-looking women as inspiration. WTF?
I’ve been only…
Fat is disgusting, average is ugly, thin is in.
Everything wrong with the world, as told by an actual tumblr header.
gloriouseats:
carlconnor:
… asking about their stance on “promoting bad health”. I’m done arguing with confused kids on the road to killing themselves, so this is my last action on the matter, hoping to see tumblr make some positive steps towards checking up on what they allow on their site.
Subject: “Dangerous Blogging; Promoting Bad Health”
Hi there,
I’ve just been looking through your content policy and ToS in hope of finding somewhere that states tumblr does not allow its site to be used to condone bad health, people hurting themselves, or potentially accidentally killing themselves.
I would like to think “libelous, defamatory, abusive, threatening, harassing, hateful, offensive or otherwise violates any law or right of any third party”, taken from your ToS would somewhat cover it, but not sure it does.
Let me get to my point…
If someone was to report a tumblr blog for posting things like “let’s all cut ourselves” and constantly encourages people to do so, I imagine that would fall in breech of your ToS somewhere, right? Promoting self-harm I’m sure is more than “frowned upon” by law so one would imagine this would not be tolerated.
Now… on this presumption, I would like to ask why 100’s (if not 1000’s) of your blogs are allowed to have underweight, malnourished, ill teenagers (and in some cases adults) promoting diets that would put someone in hospital after a couple of weeks. There are blogs on your site that have people who are already dangerously thin posting pictures of themselves and others with rake-thin bodies complaining about how they need to lose more weight, along with posting some SCARY vital statistics, followed by statements of how they have been starving themselves and ending up in hospital as a result… all while telling others “this is how to look good… this is what YOU need to do”.
To take us back to the “let’s all cut ourselves” analogy that I’m sure you would not like on your site; That’s not even as bad as half of these people mentally and physically hurting themselves through practical starvation. Flesh wounds might leave cuts and scars, but not eating can kill someone… especially those on your site who are young enough to get emerged in this on-going problem.
Now I fully understand that this is a problem for the internet as a whole, not just tumblr… but on YOUR site I would at least like some kind of acknowledgement that this kind of behaviour will not be tolerated and those blogs that are blatantly harmful to many many people will be at least examined and possibly removed. If you are unaware of this, I would like to guide you to blogs that regularly speak of “thinspiration” or “thinspo”, as it’s called. Where some people admittedly just want to be thin, which is fine… but many many others push this to limits that are extremely harmful… and these are the blogs I’m referring to.
Thanks for your time,
Carl Connor (http://carlconnor.tumblr.com/)
I have no expectations… but I can hope.
***edit: And by the way, feel free to reblog this letter to your followers. If enough people are aware of the problem and get in touch with tumblr, they’ll have to listen.***
Totally Agree! Couldn’t have been better explained.
Original HERE
Getting this out in the open again because it has been over a month and tumblr never bothered to acknowledge it. I think it’s time for some of you guys to send it to tumblr too. I’ve sent it again, and will send once a week until I get a reply.
They can be reached at support@tumblr.com
Should any of you get a reply, let me know. Keep this active, let us at least try help a little.
If you actually wanna do something, instead of bitching about it, feel free to read this letter, then send it to tumblr themselves. Every little helps, right?
http://carlconnor.tumblr.com/post/815920733/so-i-sent-a-letter-to-tumblr
