Reddit's controversial "Jailbait" section shut down by moderators
By James Brady RyanAugust 18th, 2011, 12:30 pmComments (80)
You may not realize Reddit, that online aggregator for all things viral/important to men in their early twenties, has some sketchier sections, if all you look at is the homepage. But, like anything that relies on user submission, the site can get just as sleazy as its sleaziest user — which explains the subreddit Jailbait, which was infamous for posting pictures of "legal but sexualized images of teenagers," many of which seem to come from social-networking sites, a fact that doesn't exactly scream " with subject's consent."
If you think that sounds super disgusting: good for you, you are not a scumbag! And you can also take a bit of pleasure in the news that the section was recently shut down:
The problems began after internal power struggles led to the ouster of a number of moderators at the subreddit, /r/jailbait. Their replacements attracted the attention of Reddit admins.
According to Reddit’s general manager, Erik Martin, these new moderators “had been repeatedly banned from reddit for various reasons” and the situation in the subreddit “was out of control.”
...Martin banned the subreddit.
Martin won't comment further on whether or not the moderators were actually breaking the law, but the top moderator of the Jailbait section — great way to spend your time, bro, cool choices! — is standing his ground that the banning was unjustified.
Reddit and its users are well known for a commitment to free speech on the site, even if certain sections or topics are morally questionable, and this move has outraged many who feel this is a move of the slippery-slope variety. What's next, banning the subreddit about beating women? (Which is 100% real.) Reddit need only hold itself to its own internal standards — there's no inalienable right to posting on Reddit — but moves like this could put off a base that gets particularly ornery when it comes to censorship.
Commentarium (80 Comments)
I almost wonder if that subreddit existed exclusively for trolling purposes.
No, it wasn't trolling. But America will continue to pretend like women magically become sexually desirable at age 18, and pretend like everyone who suggests otherwise is some disgusting pervert. I'm glad we can sentence a 15 year old to death for murder, but if a girl that age posts pictures of herself in panties the people who enjoy it are sickos.
The one about beating women is for trolling purposes though. Glad to see that the blogger who wrote this shitty article was able to pick up on it.
But "women" under 18, desirable as they can be, are not adults and can't give legal consent to having their pics spread all over the internet. Adults have enough of a hard time to deal with that, kids shouldn't have to.
Maybe the authorities should have a peek into your harddrive :P
Well that's my point isn't it? Legally, we try 14 year olds as adults. Yet we push "children" through a one-size-fits all education system that cripples their creativity and intellectual ability. We repress their sexuality, either for religion or by saying it's "for their own good because they can't make these decisions themselves".
Here's a hint: neither side has any right to tell someone what they can and can't do with their body. Do I think a 13 year old is emotionally ready for sex? No. Probably not even a lot of 15 year olds. But invalidating their consent because of some arbitrary and obscenely high legal age (like lolwut said) is pretty fucking criminal.
There are many countries where 13/14 is the legal age of consent. History is packed with societies that were even more liberal.
Not saying that's the right approach, but lol @ conditionedamericanmoralhighground
@person who wrote "@Ryan" - I think his point was that in terms of being able to give legal consent, 18 is an arbitrary number to choose, and it might be too high. Then again, I don't think anyone should have any rights until they pass a test of some variety that proves they are competent enough to handle the responsibility of having said rights, but I'm also an asshole. So, there's that.
Meanwhile, r/picsofdeadkids, r/beatingwomen, r/spacedicks and r/republicans still exist...
Having sex, regardless of the age of consent, is something that can be done in private, and that's the case most of the time - whereas having one's picture online is a public thing. It's not just the people you have sex with who'll see you in a sexual way, but pretty much anybody who comes across the image, including peers, your mom, etc. Age of consent makes much more sense in that case.
And er, I'm not American. Nor British.
I found myself wising to protest after Anderson Cooper mentioned this site on the air. When I went there to gather ammunition for my writing campaign, I was appalled to find...nothing worth mentioning. I'm acutally appalled that so many have made such a fuss about this site. Cheerleaders give a better show than what is going on at that site. I will not be joining the bashing of this site as it is clearly non-pornographic. People who doll up their toddlers for "beauty pagents" are doing more harm than Reddit.
Now you say something