Edit - This is a post to the meta group of Blåhaj Lemmy. It is not intended for the entire lemmyverse. If you are not on Blåhaj Lemmy and plan on dropping in to offer your opinion on how we are doing things in a way you don't agree with, your post will be removed.
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A user on our instance reported a post on lemmynsfw as CSAM. Upon seeing the post, I looked at the community it was part of, and immediately purged all traces of that community from our instance.
I approached the admins of lemmynsfw and they assured me that the models with content in the community were all verified as being over 18. The fact that the community is explicitly focused on making the models appear as if they're not 18 was fine with them. The fact that both myself and one a member of this instance assumed it was CSAM, was fine with them. I was in fact told that I was body shaming.
I'm sorry for the lack of warning, but a community skirting the line trying to look like CSAM isn't a line I'm willing to walk. I have defederated lemmynsfw and won't be reinstating it whilst that community is active.
I thought we already drew that line: 18 years of age, able to consent, and consenting. For context: I looked at this article where it is said Shauna Rae is 22 years old, however due to a condition her growth was stunted. I don't think we should tell her not to date or do explicit things with her partner, when she finds one. It's her body, and she is an adult. Similar to others with growth related conditions, such as dwarfism, or simply people who look petite even after they've come of age, who also get thrown under the bus regularly.
Let's actually go that extra step and pretend she did make sexually explicit content. Now what? It immediately feels very wrong. Put that aside. I'm guessing most people are going to be worried about those with certain urges getting their rocks off..? (Honestly, not sure what to call them here, I was already unfamiliar with the term "CSAM", so I'll just leave it at that.) Now there's content that's legal and hasn't harmed a child. That seems ... better than the alternative?
I don't think a person with unhealthy sexual urges gets to choose whether they have these urges or not. Demonizing them to the degree that we are, leads to most of them not being able to get the help they need. If it can't be done by other means such as therapy, or therapy is not available, an outlet might help. And whether that's "questionable" but legal porn, roleplaying, or other content or activities involving consenting adults that seems to tick the right boxes, ... that's up to them, not us. Again, miles better than the alternative, even if the immediate reaction is to be disgusted.
It's an incredibly delicate problem. I'd say the right approach would be to do more scientific studies, but I imagine not many have or will be done because of the societal taboo. It's also very iffy trying to search for existing research on this matter on the internet, and even if I could find some, I don't have the expertise to know how scientifically sound it is.
In fact, in writing this and continuously re-reading my comment, I keep feeling like the points I'm making are scarily close to those of an apologist, or worse, someone who wants to normalize the sexualization of minors. I want to make it clear that I'm 100% against this. But I'm also against shaming the bodies of adults, telling them what they can't and can't do, because it makes me feel uncomfortable. (And I want to note that this is not meant to be an argument relating to the thread as a whole, as it would not want to tell the admins to host content I hypothesized in this post.)
Holy shit unrelated I recognize you from Vintage Story. I had a modding stint for awhile and used your guide to get started. Thanks!!