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Dispatches from the War on Horny: Has the popular Japanese website Pixiv been colonized by the Western Social-Financial-Complex?
Today (well, yesterday as I write this), Pixiv announced that, in cooperation with Visa and MasterCard's policies (well, okay, they say "Brand Protections of Card Networks," but you probably know what that really means and which card networks they're referring to), they will be forbidding certain content from their Booth, Fanbox, and Request services--of note is "sexual exploitation of a minor." If you aren't already, sit down and get (un)comfortable, this is going to take some explaining.
Now, because of the recent Twitter shenanigans, you may have come across these blog posts by Matthew Skala and Ethan Zuckerman about Pawoo, Pixiv's Mastodon instance, and both its sheer popularity as well as how comfortable its userbase is with lolicon content (and how that makes other Mastodon instances chafe). Well, loli content is once again the source of conflict over at Pixiv, and the East-vs.-West dimension seems like it's also at play here.
The new guidelines seem tailor-made to ban loli and guro (AKA gore) content (which, as a reminder, is fictional art), with the former being, well, just plainly popular for what is likely a whole bunch of cultural reasons I can't get into here. While these guidelines focus on payment-based services that Pixiv provides (Booth is a storefront akin to Gumroad or Storenvy or Etsy, Fanbox is a subscription service akin to Patreon, and I presume Request is Pixiv's equivalent to Skeb, a website for commissioning artists), it's not inconceivable to think that this will sooner or later also apply to the regular art-sharing side of Pixiv, the main site itself.
While I can't really link to them (or at least the Sankaku article collating them), there's already some reactions from Japanese users suggesting that Pixiv will have a Tumblr Porn Ban situation on their hands, as users pre-emptively flee the site before they get kicked off and leave for competitors like Nijie (another art-sharing site) and Fantia (another subscription platform).
One other reaction has been to ask "why not avoid this conflict?", as Pixiv could either just not use Visa/MasterCard (like what competing site DMM did), or, more feasibly, implement workarounds like using points purchased with credit cards (like what DLSite and deviantArt do), or even adopt crypto payments. However, it's also likely that Pixiv is completely fine with this, and here's where things get spicy:
Oddly enough, a few months ago, Pixiv instituted DEI-type policies and sensitivity training, which I presume is quite the rare thing to see from a Japanese company. Now, without going way "beyond the wire" epistemically, it does seem like Pixiv has somehow picked up the Western memes of DEI and incorporated them. This likely made them more open to playing by the rules of Visa and MasterCard, not just on paper, but also spiritually. But, again, I don't want to get too into the weeds of cultural colonialism from the West--it could just be that Pixiv really wants the money that flows through the Visa/MC networks and aren't too willing to rock the boat on this matter. I don't think this is the newest form of imposed American hegemony on the Japanese way of life, like Commodore Perry or the post-WWII occupation and reforms (which arguably built the environment that allowed hentai and lolicon to emerge in the first place), but it kinda does feel like it. (Though see also)
There is certainly no shortage of culture-war red meat when it comes to the modern culture clash between America and Japan WRT general social justice issues, from how Japanese Twitter's trending tab was populated by politics and similar current events until Musk took over, to the aforementioned Mastodon/Pawoo conflict where both sides were of completely different mindsets, and the various controversies over censorship and localization with Crunchyroll's anime distribution and Sony's treatment of Japanese games.
And of course, I don't think I need to re-link articles about Visa vs. PornHub or Patreon restricting adult content or so on. You might already be familiar with how PayPal and the credit card companies basically ban porn and other adult content (citing its high risk of chargebacks), whether outright or through sheer inconvenience (there was a comment I saw recently about how a medium-tier/size payment processor for a porn site had to keep re-routing around damage in the form of network bans, plus also the little things like not being able to use PayPal for some sites and services). Financial deplatforming comes in second or third place to regular social media deplatforming in terms of how often it gets discussed, but it's not very far behind.
Just from the practical/ethical standpoint, PayPal, Visa, and MasterCard are so huge and dominant that they probably should just be common carriers, especially considering the non-NSFW areas where they have influence (namely speech and such; dissident shitposters and Russians are probably well-aware of this reality). PayPal can freeze your account and hold onto your money for no good reason (and you especially better hope they don't catch wind of you doing sex work or selling NSFW art commissions), and your only option is to enter arbitrage, if you can.
But there's also the poltical dimension of this: these three companies are part of the massive American/global financial hegemon, able to kick off actors and users at-will, whether they be lowly prostitutes or even entire countries. Having one large actor dominate much of the world's wealth is very likely bad on its own, but the pay-to-play ESG corporatism being used to draw the lines of social acceptability is extra-worrying. The anti-porn policies of 1st-world payment processing may be rooted in social conservatism, but they play nicely with the liberal-progressive strong-arming many worry about. For any country more worried about losing access to international money because they crossed some cultural or social red-line of the West, there are only three options: embrace crypto (and subject yourself to the non-stop boom-and-bust cycles it suffers from), voluntarily disconnect from the global finance system (with all the hard work that entails), or admit that we all live in America.
EDIT: Since this kicked off a whole sub-thread in response to Hlynka, I would just like to state for the record that while I don't really care for Lolicon at all, I am fully aware that it will likely not stop there, and even an otherwise vanilla-but-still-NSFW image might eventually not be allowed. Slippery slopes, Murder-Ghandis, "the line must be drawn here," "first they came for..." etc.
As probably the only person who will be bold enough to openly identify as an avowed pedophile (and hebephile, blah blah blah etc.; this post is already too long because of my natural penchant for tangents to get into the age-based sexuality ontology soup) in this conversation, I'll ask the fundamental question: Why go after lolicon at all? (I am basing this question on the many replies here along the lines of "Yeah I'm against censorship in general but this in particular is a good thing.")
We're going to masturbate to children, real and fictional.1 You know we are, and you can't stop us. We have been since the start of the Internet. The only ways that could realistically stop us would ruin society and technology for everyone else too (especially any dissidents).2
Wouldn't you rather it be the fictional ones, or at least more the fictional ones (for example, even if a pedo splits his time on 20% fictional/80% real children, wouldn't you rather it be that than 100% real)? It would be one thing if you really had managed to fully crack down on any sexualized content of real children online and fictional content was the only stuff left to police, but you haven't at all (not even the illegal stuff overall, and its legal counterpart far less). Do you really want us on Instagram instead of Pixiv? We can actually message the girls in the photos on there!
1. And, to make it clear up front and maybe forestall some of the pointless replies of a purely mindlessly emotionalized and moralistic character (usually marked ironically enough by the impotent and simplistic anger and disapproval characteristic of a child (not that I don't welcome angry and disapproving replies of an intellectual character more complex than "wtf die pedo", because I certainly do)) that this post will inevitably receive, a lot of you have masturbated to them too, unknowingly (or perhaps half-knowingly, deep down) or not, especially if you define "child" as anyone under the age of 18 (unless you are a major, dedicated, and unwavering MILF fetishist who never spares a single glance for any erotic content labeled "teen" of any variety ever, which realistically we all know most of us aren't).3
(That is, among other implications of the above, I often if not usually get quite a few PMs along the lines of "I'd never be bold enough to admit it publicly like you but I'm always masturbating to lolicon/child "models"/junior "idols"/"jailbait" [or younger]/etc. online too [with stuff like 'and I feel bad about it and you're the first similar person I've come across online discussing it' often appended]." from other users after I make posts like these on forums, just so you all know.)
(So, again, if you're planning on responding to this post with (also again, pointless and impotent (as I guarantee you that, as someone who used old early/mid-2000s 4chan in his tender years, you will not wound me with your words on a screen)) wrath, perhaps you might as well not bother knowing how many other worthy targets there are out there immune via stealth in any case to your "righteous" crusading. You'll only be weakly attacking one visible target, with many more flying under your radar, I assure you.)
(I also point this out to remind all readers that any "consensus" on something so taboo, with so much social coercion, pressure, and shaming applied, is always inherently fake or at least unverifiable (similarly to, and in a similar manner using similar methods, the "consensus" on "just being a decent fucking human being [and 'respecting' people's 'gender identities', acknowledging that 'Black Lives Matter', not 'policing' women's bodies, etc.]!" that woke advocates allege with similar slogans, just even stronger because it's bipartisan).)
2. That is, as pointed out by many others in this subthread, say goodbye to anything that isn't Cathedral-approved because they will gladly use the same censorship techniques on all of it (after promising you that they won't and they're just targeting the "worst of the worst" that you disapprove of too). In fact, though it's not widely known and thus not widely remarked upon, Big Tech to a large degree honed and perfected its early censorship techniques, long before it was seen as censorious by anyone, on pedophilic content (as I personally witnessed/experienced, that gradual realization that the website/computer was explicitly lying to you to hide things, again long before it applied politically).
Back when the "algorithm" was actually fully honest, there were regularly underage girls shaking their assets all over the front page, trending section, etc. of YouTube, for example (because they're a lot more popular than anyone wants to admit). Cleaning that situation up was, I believe, Big Tech's actual first foray into manipulating the narrative. And look where it's led. Why think it can't happen again and more?
3. This is in reference to all of the (100% verified, ages on their Instagrams with proof like dated photos from their 12th, 13th, etc. birthday(s) (though of course those ages are rarely spread alongside their content)) underage girls whose photos and TikToks in skimpy miniskirts, bikinis, etc. are stealthily spread all over porn sites, Reddit, etc., as if it were 18+ content.
(Though I don't think "normies" actually care as much as they pretend to if a girl on their screen really is 18+, as long as she's hot, especially since some of these girls, despite their bodies/presentation, still have obviously pretty neotenous faces.
(There's also probably/certainly some element of deluding themselves involved too though, something perhaps like "I'm sexually attracted to her, someone who is sexually attracted to underage girls is a bad person, and I'm not a bad person, so she can't be underage." For example, I've had people still straight up deny that a girl they find attractive is underage after linking them her 12th birthday celebration Instagram post on her official account clearly dated from 2 years ago.))
The "I'm actually very confident and inevitable!!" insistence rings a bit hollow when the only thing you end up actually expressing is the same set of stock excuses every guilty man craps out to talk others out of punishing him. "W-wait, they're coming for you next!!" isn't a convincing case when some weakman bluehairs use it to justify freeing convicted rapists to prevent repressive capitalist state apparatus from destroying the global working class, and it's even less convincing from a "guy" who doesn't even have enough balls to directly defend those perversions he loudly pretends to believe aren't a big deal. You're not "bold," you're a basic degenerate e-begging for just enough reluctant validation to avoid the (entirely correct) conclusion that he must soon apply millstone to neck, and that you have to do it by fearmongering the board into adopting a position of political and organizational impotence, before the fear that their enemies might possibly challenge them to control some expression of political power, should make that much plain. I doubt that big spiel about "le moralism" must be a big comfort to someone who spends his life running like a roach to hide under the fridge whenever someone turns the lights on, but I guess I really can't expect much better; after all, being a pathetic manipulator is the evergreen face of noncery.
In your heart, you know it's right.
Yeah unfortunately I'm in agreement with the moderator below (rare for me) that I don't really know much what to make of your rant other than that you are very mad. But I will say this:
It just hasn't come up in this limited scope conversation (that happened to be what I responded to) yet (as I really only made one simple, small inquiry and it is only my penchant for tangents as mentioned previously which naturally opened up other avenues of discussion), but if you want the full scope of my opinion I will tell you: I believe that the feminine should exist somewhere in a state between wardship and sexual (and otherwise) chattel slavery/property in relation to the masculine. This view naturally accommodates little in the way of valuing modern "consent", much less an age of it, same as the government doesn't/can't (rightfully) tell you that your TV has to be X number of years old before you can watch it, hence explaining my expressed views thus far.
(I do separately believe in the righteousness, correctness, mental healthiness, and beauty of the appreciation of the young female form as a natural masculine birthright, that it is superior to its opposite (that is, I am still an avowed pedo/hebephile, etc. as well as previously claimed), but this post is already long and as my opinion that there are no just grounds for prohibiting something tautologically explains a lack of support for its prohibition, I will save the promotion/exaltation of it for another time.)
(And as a separate disclaimer given some obvious but incorrect implications that might be derived from the above, of course I am not (from my perspective) a monster and just as I don't believe anyone should arbitrarily destroy/damage their TV or especially, for example, their dogs (for no reason anyway) who I do recognize as sentient beings with feelings, I grant the same consideration to sentient feminine entities (so long as they are in a state of behavioral correctness, just as you can put your dog down or at least whack them for uncontrollably biting people), but that still doesn't change the nature of them as fundamentally justly subservient and thus rightfully subject to a broad latitude of control by their owning/possessing entity. (And yes for the record I think women and girls would be on balance much happier in this hypothetical society.))
That is, I am certainly no "NOMAP" or "virtuous pedophile" or any such nonsense (though I have tactically abstained from most that is illegal in this area throughout my life, recognizing sadly that this is unfortunately not a time period conducive to the true, proper, and full expression of masculinity with the little consequence it deserves) and certainly had no intention of representing myself as such.
To enforce the above (among other common desires on the far right wishlist, like certain racial hygiene initiatives, eugenics, etc.), I believe that a strong, fascist-esque (that is, probably a bit more organized, a bit more bureaucratic and technocratic under the hood, lots of marching and paeans to vigor and masculinity still, great aesthetics you know, but better planning to ensure it all lasts, a bit of Disneyland magic at times except for higher purposes (just to address preemptively the most sensible/common criticism of fascism as a whole that it inevitably burns itself out in its ardent fervor)) society should be constituted. I like to call this "pedofascism" as it is a catchy, provocative name that gets people talking, though I haven't posted online much about it yet as I post online a lot less than I used to in general.
From my perspective, none of this is the shady, seedy underbelly of society that can only be excused through feeble pleas to left-wing "tolerance" (as you seem to be implying I believe) or "Yeah but they'll come for you next!" (though these are true arguments to a degree and thus permissible for use in many circumstances) but rather the natural and inevitable state of a truly fully masculine society at full power (which is not to say that such a society is inevitable). Its opponents, in my view, are those who are the degenerates and enemies of masculinity, as well meaning as many of them are in regards to thinking themselves the opposite.
To me, the creepy, unnerving connotations of "noncery" intuitively far more apply to those who would deny themselves a vigorous expression of their natural sexual desire for the young, fresh, and unblemished (as almost every proper man should inevitably prefer or at least strongly desire to some degree per basic evolutionary logic) because of what is essentially a campaign of feminist subversion. (Age of consent law campaigning was basically the first act of modern feminism, even before the "earning" the vote or prohibition.) That is, to me you are the ones scurrying "under the fridge" like "roach[es]" (in even more pitiable/contemptible fear of your own inner "light").
So no, I am not a "guilty man" in regards to my preferences/bluntness in embracing them in this area. I am ashamed, but primarily only of the weakness of my fellow men in regards to not joining me as is their birthright, would they have the will to enforce it. (My appeal against "moralism" is only an appeal against what is to me only false, hysterical, and feminine moralism. To appeal to a genuinely higher justice is no crime.)
(To be clear, the endorsement of the enjoyment of feminine varieties of any age as a natural masculine right would in fact actually be only a small (though essential, as you can't and obviously don't have a fully, properly patriarchal society in its absence (even discounting how it already acted as a canary in the coalmine on the subject the first(?) time as previously mentioned), same as you don't really have TV freedom if you can only watch older TVs) part of the character of my ideal society. Any seeming emphasis on it now is only because it is nevertheless a heavy controversy now, same as heliocentrism was once a heavily controversial position that required hard-won acceptance, even though, as unthinkably to its opponents then as it is now to people like you that the acceptance of age freedom for masculine sexuality wouldn't be that big of a deal, it's not that big of a deal for us, something we fully endorse based on clear logic and observation but not something that we worship/emphasize unduly.
That is, we are not really a heliocentrist society despite accepting heliocentrism fully and without reservation and mine would not necessarily be a pedophilic/etc. society per se (depending on how enduring the "pedofascist" label is) despite accepting it similarly (or rather dismantling the flawed (mostly feminist, progressive, etc., even if they disguise or deny that nature) ideological lenses that I believe could only ever be used as the grounds to mandate its prohibition, thus leaving no justification), just in case you try the usual gambit of insisting that my apparent "obsession" with the subject must nevertheless reveal some inherent and disqualifying flaw in my psychology. It is only because this is a society of (knowingly or not) feminism-influenced "geocentrists" that I must debate or think about the issue at all; in an ideal society the proper nature of things would already be in place and there would be little more reason to consider it than the tides: purely for the impractical joy of thought if at all.)
So, with that all established, you must understand that, assuming you're somewhat more on the right since you called me a "basic degenerate", from my perspective the "basic [and clearly media/Cathedral-brainwashed on this subject, at least in my view] degenerate" here is you, that you are aligned with the bluehairs (at least about this subject) that you are so worried about (or so you believe, carrying their water here as you are), etc. (In case you maybe thought you would somehow intimidate me with your austere hard line on degeneracy, millstones around necks, tough guy South Park suicide clip stuff? I want the same; your agecuckoldry (used as non-derisively as possible) is just to me included in that realm of "degeneracy", on the same level and part of the same phenomenon as the general intolerable feminization of men and society.)
Or, more succinctly, this tweet pair gets at similar ideas: https://twitter.com/Burgerpunk2077/status/1556021799011307520
For further elaboration of a similar viewpoint (as it is a somewhat novel one and thus I will assume that more examples for familiarization are uniquely helpful for the reader's understanding of it), see this /pol/ classic from ~2017 or so: https://img.4plebs.org/boards/pol/image/1508/05/1508054159980.png (Obviously this little manifesto was not written to conform to the etiquette this board so click at your own risk; it is provided merely as an illustrative artifact of digital anthropology.)
Is this enough "balls" for you then in regards to being very clear about what I endorse? I can elaborate more. It just requires some groundwork since (again, reading this into your post, could be wrong), you seem to be assuming that I'm somewhere to the left of you, when, from my perspective, I am in fact far to the right of you. You are, at least in many ways, my globalist, modernist, progressive bogeyman (especially as your kind is so often completely convinced that you have fully aligned yourself against them, you are in a way more unacceptable to me).
This all of course strays far from the original subject of this subthread, but you accused me of the impropriety/dishonor of being indirect/subversive about my beliefs (which must be considered permissible as a tactical necessity at the least among enemies or other risks to one's freedom, but I won't classify a mostly open intellectual venue as such at the moment), so an infodump
"no, u mad" followed by 1.6 thousand words are quite good evidence I hit my mark and a nerve.
Millstone.
I realize it may be pointless to reply while you're banned, but I have to ask what the heck "millstone" is supposed to refer to, because you've used it here the same way 4Channers say "dilate" to transwomen.
Matthew 18:6 or Mark 9:42 or Luke 17:2, which each say about the same thing. Paraphrasing, "better to tie a millstone around your neck, and be cast into the deepest sea, than to lead a child into sin." In context, it's not specific to pedophilia, more of a general injunction against corrupting innocence in children, but pedophilia is generally considered the extreme case of a violation against this stricture.
Huh. I'd picked up that it was a "kill yourself", but I didn't notice the Bible reference. Thanks.
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Do not be deliberately antagonistic, this was right after another mod warning. 5 day ban.
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You accused me of being indirect about my beliefs, I explained them in great detail (certainly not because you "struck a nerve" as in fact I've had this all on the tip of my digital tongue for a while and you gave me a good excuse to let it all out, though you obviously aren't worthy of its debut), and your response is nothing more than mindless, simplistic Reddit-style snark. Unless you wish to reform your behavior in a less (cattily and frivolously, not even embodying their occasional virtues) feminine direction, this is the part where I dismiss you as a man and move on. You may have permission to address me again as a fellow man (assuming you identify as one) when you have developed a proper intellectual backbone.
Edit:
His original post was:
His latest edit is obviously a response to a suggestion of the opposite. In any case:
I will leave it as an exercise for the reader to determine whose nerve has thus been struck. Hopefully if anybody sees it some will enjoy my response to him regardless, as its length is a reflection of my desire to communicate the material, not to address such a generically discontented individual (who I've naturally encountered some close variation of probably hundreds of times prior).
As I ironically enough mentioned in my initial response to him:
Cattiness, passive aggressiveness, and an incapability of enduring direct challenge without ragequitting (and of course inevitably doing a modern faux-indifferent/casual "But I'm not mad! I'm not owned! You are!" routine along the way) are all of course included in this. I think I hit the nail on the head.
Edit 2:
And shall we add irresoluteness and indecision? As they say: "lmao."
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For whatever reason despite being under the character limit my post appears to be cut off to me. In any case the last line is:
(If I had known this would happen despite heavy editing to bring it under the character limit I would have made the above a two-parter anyway so please do excuse any space-saving measures such as the overuse of conjunction via forward slash and the generally less varied diction.)
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This is pure namecalling.
I gave the OP some slack for taking an unpopular (to put it mildly) position, and I'll give his critics some slack because it's obviously an extremely emotive topic, but you still don't have a license to ignore the rules and be as antagonistic as you want just because you really hate what someone is expressing.
No, it's not pure namecalling, I pointed to a specific substantive and conduct problem with OP while namecalling him: It's one thing if some honest ignorant person really doesn't get that pedophilia is wrong, it's another if the main thrust of a person's post (history, based on some comments on another thread) amounts to flaunting his pedophilia and making vague allusions to auxiliary issues for plausible deniability. I don't plan to revisit this issue outside of complaints to staff, but it's extremely hard to understand why you think namecalling is the problem next to that.
Well, next time leave the namecalling out.
Because we don't allow namecalling. You are allowed to criticize people's behavior and beliefs. You are not allowed to personally insult them. Yes, that even applies to pedophiles, Nazis, tankies, wokes, Bills fans, and whoever else you hate the most with a pure and righteous hate. If you cannot engage without personal attacks, do not engage.
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