YouTube hates me and I’m feeling wronged.

Since the end of summer I’ve been finding my way back into lingerie reviewing. Putting pen to paper (or rather finger to keyboard) has been challenging while I’ve discovered that filming myself rambling on with my thoughts has actually come easier. So I logged back into my old YouTube account — ten years since the last time I’d reviewed a bra on there — and started where I left off.

Or that’s what I thought I was doing, because no sooner have I returned to the platform, YouTube has now deleted me.

Why? Because YouTube thinks a bra review is porn.

A decade ago, I never had this problem getting banned. Maybe my videos were so grainy and low grade you couldn’t really see them. But since my return to the platform, this time filming in 4K detail, I’ve apparently been too offensive and I’ve had no end of trouble with censorship.

Just about every time I’ve uploaded, within minutes YouTube has pulled the video and struck me with a two week ban, threatening channel deletion should I continue to “violate the community guidelines”.

They’ve never given an actual reason why an upload was prohibited though, or drawn my attention to whatever part of the video they didn’t approve of. No explanation beyond the sweeping statement of the apparent policy violation. I’ve emailed for clarification, to figure out what it is that Youtube isn’t liking so I can at least learn from it and avoid next time, but I’ve had no reply. So if all YouTube is doing is shutting me down without good reasoning, how am I supposed to know exactly what I’m (in their eyes) doing wrong?

Before my channel was deleted, I only had a handful of videos, so far covering topics like wire-free bras, poor bra fittings and underwear hauls from various shops. At times there’s sheer fabric, sometimes a bum in a thong. However the lingerie looks, I’m critically focussed and fashion minded. If anything, most of the time I’m talking to myself like a complete idiot as I try to figure out how to put something on or work out an odd fitting, so if this is the definition of sexual content, I have no help.

To say I’m cross would be an understatement. Women wear bras, dammit!

But this is what really gets me. When you see other channels uploading the same, if not more prominent, visually graphic content in ‘transparent try-ons’ or other farcically veiled ‘tutorials’ like “how to shave a bikini area”, it simply feels unjust.

I’d noticed the use of disclaimers placed at the front of these videos, so I decided to try incorporating my own, editing in the extra page for the beginning of my latest (and last) review. I didn’t hold out much hope though, since according to some reddit threads it’s not a free pass; YouTube can, and do, still shut channels down with disclaimers.

I have never tried to play the system. Erring on the side of caution, I’ve marked all my content as 18+ and always check the “not made for kids” box, to protect underage viewers and enforce only registered adult participation. And I’ve tried blurring out potentially offensive areas, physically obstructing view with paper or my hands, but it’s never made a difference.

YouTube clearly doesn’t understand context — or rather their automated system doesn’t, flagging content in a black and white manner. Only until recently did they supposedly relax their views on breastfeeding content, a fight likely hindered by the kink accounts jumping on the “nursing tutorial” pretence. It’s these “I’m innocent, honest” accounts that spoil it for the genuine ones, yet for some mystery reason, Youtube are allowing the blatantly sexual content and removing the likes of me.

If it was actually possible to speak to a human at YouTube I’d ask them why they think lingerie is adult content anyway. That’s as ridiculous as saying a lingerie model in an M&S shop window is a sex worker. Lingerie doesn’t equate to porn.

If I’m talking about the aesthetics of a bra, its construction and shape, and showing how that garment fits on a real body, there is no sexual suggestion.

And I totally get and accept the need for censorship, ensuring the safety of virtual spaces where all ages of society exist. As a mum, I wouldn’t want my own child falling upon graphically inappropriate content. No different to tv regulation or movie certification, I do agree that online content should also be age appropriate with suitability/trigger warnings where necessary.

What I don’t appreciate is my vanilla content, already marked as 18+, being treated even more harshly as in the way of pornography, making it a major breach of the rules. A little bit of a see-through bra is not pornographic, it’s certainly not illegal and it’s hardly immoral.

So tell me, Youtube — why do you provide the 18+ checkbox if you don’t accept 18+ content?

Ultimately, whether I belong in the vlogging community or not will depend on YouTube’s audacious authority on what’s acceptable. Deleting my channel, YouTube isn’t just preventing me from sharing as a creator, they’re silencing the voice of womanhood. But what do I know, when the ‘powers that be’ give a good old thumbs up to a foamed up arsehole, social media really is an upside down world.

---

What are your thoughts on the removal of my videos? Do you think Youtube are too heavy-handed or are they just doing their job in a dangerous online world? Leave your comments below and we’ll continue the chat.

---

---