Support the LGBTQ+ community by removing ban of the words "Gay" and "Transexual"
Hello, I have recently discovered that Twitch considers the following words to be against content guidelines:
Gay
Trans
Transexual
I am asking that these words be whitelisted in support of Twitch's vast queer community. It can be assumed these words were banned to cut down on trolling in the communities. However, I feel it should be the people who misuse these words who are regulated and punished. Not the queer people who's identities are being attacked and invalidated by having these words banned. This month is pride month and Twitch is showcasing queer creators on the front page every day while simultaneously saying that the words used to describe their identity are against their content policies. Please, can we correct this gross missight?

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Aci_tv commented
Twitch is about streamers, not games. Or do you watch uncommented gameplay on twitch? Of course not.
And sexuality and gender are a part of all streamers, so of course those tags have a right to exist, -
KameeTheGaymer commented
To the person who said the following;
«No, how about remove those tags etc? This is for VIDEO GAMES, NOT someones sexuality. It has NO PLACE in here»Twitch isn’t just used for games anymore, and I’m sorry to be the one to tell you this;
You need to move on, and stop being childish and closeminded.
Now, back to the actual topic, I think this is a great idea. As we’ve been pushed away for too long..
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Reydempto commented
Celebrating over 1 year of twitch dropping the ball on this discussion thread 🎉
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supurupap1 commented
the word continues to be used to offend other users. mods should be aware of the context in which you are placed in the chat. The word by itself is nothing more than an orientation. but we know that in the context of the chat it is situated, not infrequently, in an offensive way. Until that improves, you will often see the loose word in the comments with an aggressive double meaning.
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CmdrSpaceDog commented
I only found out about this today and agree that this needs to be changed. I am a gay streamer and watch a lot of others in the community. That we can't say a word that describes us is insane.
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splintersmith commented
Hey Twitch, this is an insane policy. I can't believe it's been an issue for this long, and you haven't fixed it and issued an apology. It's been 9 months. Address this immediately.
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theauthor13 commented
I am LGBT and I am disappointed in this. Please change this. These are valid words to describe someone and not a slur. Banning them makes this site feel less safe for people in that community.
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bonkstrats commented
Another transsexual voting yes to this change!
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bedsores commented
hello! the word transsexual is currently disallowed from appearing in titles, tags, or go live messages. i assume you at twitch have experienced feedback that the term is outmoded, offensive, or superseded by other words; perhaps also you're responding to the use of the term in adult material. i must urge and entreat you to reconsider on both counts! the term transsexual will celebrate a century of use since it's coining in 1923, and to many its not outmoded or offensive -- it's simply what we are. i'm one! my friends are transsexuals, the queens who i grew up with are transsexuals, many of the people in trans history i look up to and draw lineage from called themselves transsexuals. i have no ideological agenda in bringing this to you, no bone to pick with other umbrella terms, no desire to force people to use words they dislike. twitch already allows "queer" in titles and tags; although not everyone loves the term, it's open to use for those with whom it resonates. right now, twitch's tag/title moderation treats what i am like a slur, swear, or scarlet letter -- i simply wish for the chance to call myself what i am. thank you for considering!
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FlyingShredder commented
I agree, that words like gay, trans, and transgender should not be whitelisted words. I am very disappointed about this. I do not know can I even use twitch, if it is nitpicking minorities like this.
I know some people use minority identities as insult, but banning the terms only agrees with them, that the minorities are nothing more than slurs.
I remember when I encountered this in one server and I tried to ask, why they are banning word gay and not other sexualities. I was only told, that if I keep going, I will be banned.
Banned from hateful community? Oh the suffering and true loss. How ever, I really did not think this would be more common issue, and it makes me angry.
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spooky_ghost_69 commented
The tag would allow people to find trans people who have medically transitioned (or are in the process of doing so) and share a similar experience in their journeys.
The current "transgender" tag alone doesn't meet this need due to the broadness of the term. Additionally, there are other identities that could fit under "transgender", such as genderqueer and genderfluid, but they have their own tags. There are also other medical-specific tags, such as intersex, blind, Tourette syndrome, paraplegic, and so on.
Transsexual is a medically accurate term that refers to transgender people who have undergone (or are undergoing) medical transition. It is not a slur, and it is not obsolete.
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CatGamingInTree commented
I'm new to Twitch and found out today these LGBTQIA+ words are against content guidelines. I'm very surprised! How can you see it this way?
If someone is Gay or Trans they are not allowed to talk about this? If we should not talk about our sexual oriëntation and gender/trans journeys then the words hetero, man, woman, non-binary etc. would also be banned.
I understand banning slurs for this but not the actual words.Because of this Twitch is not LGBTQIA+ friendly to me. I'm disappointed.
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AshMcSidhe commented
Twitch, as an LGBTQIA+ member of the Twitch community, who comes under several of the terms those letters stand for, I would very much like an explanation of why these words were blacklisted, and for that to be reverted.
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yawningkitten commented
Limiting visability of the word Gay or Trans doesn't protect our community but limits our expression. These are not words that should be excluded.
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Rhythmical_Thinker commented
I feel like this shouldn't even be a question at this point! We should test and see if they banned the word "straight".... It's ridiculous! TWITCH CHANGE THIS!!
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towardsnight commented
Twitch.. are you fkn serious right now? What’s wrong with y’all. Fix this ASAP. And shame on you.
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CelestialBeanArt commented
UPDATE: I've tested words in various places around twitch and found that you can't use the words "gay" or "trans" in the following places:
channel points
Polls
Go live notificationsWhen trying to use these words in those places, you are met with an error message stating that your titles goes against content guidelines.
When looking at my live notification history, I was able to use the word "gay" in my notification as recently as April 24th. This means that the content guidelines have changed to prohibit these words within the last month or so right before pride month started. I do still have a channel point redemption with the word "gay" in it from before these changes went into effect. So, if you were using that word before the change, you are grandfathered in but can not add a new channel point redemption with these words.
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Lucky_Octopus_ commented
The best Pride gift y'all could give the community! Please remove this "ban" its rediculous
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ally_j203 commented
Come on Twitch, you can do better. You can't have LGBTQIA tags and pride flag bitties/emotes yet ban the words "gay, transsexual and trans".
The queer community should always feel safe and welcome on this platform. Not feel like they are just being used for profit and having their freedom of speech curtailed. Please reverse the word ban.
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Reydempto commented
I totally agree with this. If terms such as “gay” “transgender” and “lgbtqia+” (which is an abbreviation of some of the blocked terms in question) are actual tags on twitch, why are they forbidden to use otherwise? It seems counterproductive.