(trigger warning: discussing legalities of sexual abuse, child pornography, and related)
So far, I’ve largely stayed out of the “underage little” conversation, only reblogging important posts and not contributing myself. That’s going to change. I am becoming increasingly concerned about what I see on my dash and across Tumblr, particularly with blogs and people creating what they call “safe spaces” and “communities for underage littles.“
There is no such thing as a safe community for underage littles.
In short:
- It is illegal to create adult-themed communities for minors. The caregiver-little dynamic is an adult kink that is a subsection of the BDSM community.
- It is illegal to solicit minors to join your adult-themed community.
- It is illegal to solicit minors for or provide to them obscene, kink-themed, or NSFW content. The content doesn’t have to have nudity or graphic sexual activity, or even be an image, to count as obscene material.
These activities are felonies in the U.S.
https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/1470
https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/2252
https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/2252Ahttps://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/47/223 (section D)There are both federal and state laws against child pornography and distributing obscene materials to minors. Since you are reading this on Tumblr, you are using the Internet, and using the Internet to commit the above felonies means they are federal offenses. There may ALSO be relevant sexual abuse laws depending on your particular location.
It’s also important to note that the age of consent in your particular state has no effect in regards to the federal offenses regarding child pornography. That is, if the age of consent in your state is 16 and you send or solicit sexually explicit content of other 16-year-olds, it is still legally child pornography. Besides, the standard for obscene materials for children is lower than the standard for obscene materials for adults.
Besides besides, obscenity is partially judged by the average person in the area where the content was accessed, meaning you could be held accountable to the opinions of people in a city you’ve never visited. That also means that your own opinion is irrelevant when it comes to judging whether the content is obscene. That is out of your hands entirely.
If you are caught, you can face fines and years in prison. You may have to register on the sex offender list, and you will have a felony that shows up in any background check in any job you apply to.
This is incredibly serious. Minors, you can ruin your lives before they even start. Besides that, trying to participate means you’re putting adults in danger–adults who should have every ability to interact in adult-themed communities without worrying about underage users.
This may sound harsh, but it’s the truth. This is not bullying. This is not unwarranted exclusivity or jealousy. This is the law. Your opinion of the law does not affect the power it has.
Additionally, there is a legal distinction between doing things for yourself (tagging your Tumblr as adult-oriented and posting kinky content) and soliciting/actively interacting with minors (posting kinky content and saying ‘safe place for underage littles! please signal boost!’). That leads me to…
HOW TO PROTECT YOUR TUMBLR FOR ADULTS:
- Make sure your Tumblr is marked as adult-oriented under your blog settings, even if you don’t post sexually explicit material. My tumblr is mostly text, cute outfits, and food, but I still tag it as adult-oriented because the caregiver-little dynamic is part of the kink community.
- State your blog is for adults only. This may seem redundant, but it is far safer for you to have a public notice discouraging minors than to seem indifferent or accepting.
- Mention your age in your description or about me (mine’s on my about page). Consider unfollowing or not following anyone who does not provide this information. Better to be safe than sorry, and far better to avoid active interaction with potential minors.
- Remember that your only obligation is to yourself. It’s absolutely okay to restrict your activity or leave if this is no longer a fun, safe space for you. You may end up deleting your blog, password-protecting it, changing how you use Tumblr, making a new blog, whatever. That is up to you, to do what you need to do.
- Flag any illegal or suspicious activity you see on your dash regarding minors in adult spaces. Click “Flag,” then “This violates Tumblr’s Community Guidelines.” Then choose “Someone is at risk of harm.” Select “Harm to minors” and then write a brief explanation of the problem (e.g. “This person is soliciting minors to join a kink community and share NSFW and sexually explicit photos of themselves” <—this is actually something I had to report, and the reason I am writing this post now).
- If you see very serious or very worrying violations, you can take screenshots and report it to the DoJ. http://www.justice.gov/criminal-ceos/report-violations We have the ability to fight back against groomers, pedophiles, and those wishing to do actual harm. I truly hope that none of us have the need to contact the authorities, but the link is there.
HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF FOR MINORS:
- First of all, do NOT join any “underage little” groups. Even if you didn’t start the group, you can face the same legal penalty for providing obscene materials to or soliciting them from minors.
- Remove yourself as an active participant from any kink-related communities. This is not just for yourself, but for the adults in the community. There is not a safe, legal way we can actively interact with you in a kink community until you are 18. Is 18 an arbitrary age? Maybe, but it is still the law and it still affects you even if you disagree with it.
- Find truly SFW communities based off of your interests. For example, I’m a huge Disney freak, especially for the parks, and I love places like the DIS Boards, AllEars.net, or Yesterland. If you’re into stuffies, consider hanging out in knitting or craft forums where you can learn to make your own. There are countless venues to explore childlike interests in communities that are not BDSM-related.
- Realize that I am talking to you not only as an adult to a child, but also as a human to a human. I do not want to see you get hurt or face lifelong consequences from an entirely avoidable situation. The only way to truly protect both minors and adults in the kink community is to keep underage people out. When you are 18, I would be the first to welcome you. But until then, for everyone’s sake, please stay out.
!!!!!
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Keeping the Kink Community Safe and Keeping Minors Out
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