FetLife explained

FetLife
Logo Alt:FetLife logo, a heart with horns
Screenshot Size:255px
Screenshot Alt:John Kopanas' user page
Collapsible:on
Founder:John Kopanas
Location:Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Parent:BitLove, Inc.
Programming Language:Ruby on Rails
Website Type:Adult social networking
Language:English
Registration:Required
Current Status:Active

FetLife is a social networking website that serves people interested in BDSM, fetishism, and kink. On its homepage, FetLife describes itself as "Like Facebook, but run by kinksters like you and me." The "Fet" in the name refers to "fetish". FetLife distinguishes itself from competitors by emphasizing itself as a social network rather than a dating site.[1]

History

FetLife was launched on January 3, 2008, by John Kopanas (also known by his username John Baku), a software engineer in Montreal, Quebec.[2] [3] [4] Frustrated by attempts to find women who had the same sexual interests as he did, Baku created a website in 2007 called "FriendsWithFetishes". While working on release 2.0 of FriendsWithFetishes, Baku decided to launch it as a separate site and named it FetLife.[5] James Golick served as chief technology officer.[6] In 2009 Baku received the Community Choice (Man) Award as part of the Pantheon of Leather Awards.[7]

In January 2017, FetLife deleted hundreds of groups - including anything with the words blood, needles, rape and incest - and temporarily shut down the ability to create new groups following pressure from their payment processor.[8] [9] The action by the payment processor was criticized by the Electronic Frontier Foundation as censorship.[10]

Features

All members have a personal profile with the option to display one or more sexual orientations, D/s roles and fetishes from respective lists. Profiles can also list relationships with other members.[11]

Members can create and join groups which function as internet forums, send direct messages to one or more other members and advertise and organize events. Members can also post blog entries, photographs and videos, either publicly or only to members in the poster's friends list, along with comments on other members' posts.[12]

The search feature is deliberately limited to prevent members from finding users with specific characteristics, such as age and gender, and blog posts can only be searched via tags specified by the poster.[13]

Criticism

In 2012, FetLife found itself at the center of a controversy regarding its policy that users pledge not to "make criminal accusations against another member in a public forum".[14] This policy has been objected to by users on the basis that censoring posts of sexual assault victims that name predatory users prevents them from warning others.[15] [16] [17] [18] FetLife's reasoning behind this policy is that it allows users to accuse others of a crime, which could be libelous if the allegations are false or unprovable.[19] [20]

In April 2017, FetLife was accessed by Brendt Christensen, the killer of Yingying Zhang, to explore discussion forums on topics relating to abduction and kidnapping.[21] Following this and other similar incidents, FetLife removed several hundred fetishes.[22]

Racism controversy

While the site's terms of service prohibit promoting racism or hate, FetLife has faced criticism for not adequately addressing the increasing prevalence of racist content. During the George Floyd protests, members reported an increase in racist hate speech and extremist content, including "white power" symbols, posts glorifying Nazi imagery, and discussions promoting white supremacy and antisemitism. Additionally, the inclusion of "race play" on the "official" fetish list has divided members, with some defending the practice as a consensual exploration of historical trauma and others criticizing it as a form of racism and fetishization.[23]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: FetLife Home Page. 2013-05-11. https://web.archive.org/web/20130510190713/https://fetlife.com/. 2013-05-10. live.
  2. Web site: JohnBaku . FetLife . registration . May 8, 2024.
  3. News: . What just happened to kink social network FetLife is a bad sign for web freedom . In an apologetic post to the FetLife community, founder John Kopanas — better known on the site by his username JohnBaku — said the restrictions were the only way out of an existential threat . Niko . Bell . February 9, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170703213659/https://www.dailyxtra.com/what-just-happened-to-kink-social-network-fetlife-is-a-bad-sign-for-web-freedom-72990 . July 3, 2017.
  4. News: Facebook for the kinky: Montreal-based FetLife.com networks fetishists of the world. https://web.archive.org/web/20120630172329/http://www.montrealmirror.com/2008/090408/news1.html. 2012-06-30. Montreal Mirror. 2009-10-18. 2008-09-04. Andrea. Zanin.
  5. Web site: FetLife.com Launches - The First Social Network for Kinksters. https://web.archive.org/web/20120228192556/http://sexualdeviants20.com/2008/01/10/fetlifecom-launches-the-first-social-network-for-kinksters/. 2012-02-28. John. Baku. Sexual Deviants Living In A Web 2.0 World. 2008-01-10. 2013-01-02.
  6. Web site: Moving On. jamesgolick.com. September 5, 2012. He told me about his growing company, and a month later, the consulting firm I'd been running was closed, our office vacant, and I had joined BitLove (the company that runs FetLife — which was then known as Protose) as CTO. . James . Golick . https://web.archive.org/web/20170704034513/http://jamesgolick.com/2012/9/5/moving-on.html . July 4, 2017.
  7. Web site: Pantheon of Leather Awards All Time Recipients - The Leather Journal. www.theleatherjournal.com. 2020-12-28. 2020-12-28. https://web.archive.org/web/20201228055005/https://www.theleatherjournal.com/pantheon-awards/recipients. dead.
  8. Web site: Kinky Social Network Fetlife Deletes Thousands Of Fetishes to Stay Online. January 25, 2017. Sirin. Kale. Vice. April 9, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170527015433/https://broadly.vice.com/en_us/article/kinky-social-network-fetlife-deletes-thousands-of-fetishes-to-stay-online. May 27, 2017. live.
  9. Web site: The Next Steps - The Big Four. FetLife. John. Baku. 2013-02-06. registration.
  10. Web site: Payment Processors are Still Policing Your Sex Life, and the Latest Victim is FetLife . Jeremy . Malcolm . March 15, 2017 . May 7, 2024.
  11. Web site: FetLife: How does this social networking site work? . March 22, 2024 . June 3, 2024 . Montgomery . Maria . Age Times.
  12. Web site: FetLife - Safety Tips . February 19, 2024 . June 3, 2024 . eSafety Commissioner.
  13. Web site: FetLife, now with improved search. FetLife. John. Baku. 2009. registration.
  14. Web site: Terms of Use. https://web.archive.org/web/20160926182707/https://fetlife.com/fetlife/tou . September 26, 2016 . You agree that, while using BitLove’s Products and Services, you will not [...] Make criminal accusations against another member in a public forum. . FetLife. April 22, 2016.
  15. Web site: A BDSM Blacklist. Tracy. Clark-Flory. Salon. 2012-06-03. 2013-01-02. https://web.archive.org/web/20130101063859/http://www.salon.com/2012/06/03/a_bdsm_blacklist/. 2013-01-01. live.
  16. Web site: Kink Community Tells Sexual Assault Victims It's All Their Fault. Katie. J.M. Baker. Jezebel. 2012-11-08. 2013-01-07. https://web.archive.org/web/20121110193814/http://jezebel.com/5958113/kink-community-tells-sexual-assault-victims-its-all-their-fault. 2012-11-10. live.
  17. Web site: The Story of 'No': S&M Sex Clubs Sprout Up on Ivy Campuses, and Coercion Becomes an Issue. Observer Media. Rachel R.. White. 2012-11-16. 2015-02-02. https://web.archive.org/web/20150214050430/http://observer.com/2012/11/the-story-of-no-sadomasochistic-sex-clubs-sprout-up-on-ivy-campuses-and-coercion-becomes-an-issue/. 2015-02-14. live.
  18. Web site: How Kink's Largest Social-Networking Site Fails Its Users. David Z.. Morris. The Atlantic. March 3, 2015. March 7, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150305203855/http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2015/03/how-kinks-largest-social-networking-site-fails-its-users/385586/. March 5, 2015. live.
  19. Web site: FetLife Is Not Safe For Users. Anaiis. Flox. Sex and the 405. 2011-08-27. 2013-01-02. https://web.archive.org/web/20121230015525/http://sexandthe405.com/fetlife-is-not-safe-for-users/. 2012-12-30. dead.
  20. Book: Weinberg, Jill D. . Consensual Violence: Sex, Sports, and the Politics of Injury . May 31, 2016 . 71–72 . 9780520290655 . . 2017-07-03 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180820172753/https://books.google.ca/books?id=0t0kDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA71&dq=%22fetlife%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiXvbvFle7UAhUp4YMKHdFiBl8Q6AEIVDAI#v=onepage&q=%22fetlife%22&f=false . 2018-08-20 . live .
  21. News: The Chicago Tribune. 'Nobody saw this coming': Arrest in Chinese scholar's disappearance stuns U. of I. community. Authorities also searched Christensen’s home and seized electronics, including his phone, according to the affidavit. The phone’s search history revealed visits to a bondage and sadomasochism fetish website called FetLife and a forum called "Abduction 101," as well as subthreads titled "Perfect abduction fantasy" and "planning a kidnapping," according to the affidavit. July 1, 2017. July 1, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170701115929/http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-missing-illinois-student-charges-20170630-story.html. July 1, 2017. dead.
  22. News: Man who tapped 'Abduction 101' forum denied bond in kidnapping, suspected murder of Chinese scholar . FetLife prohibited hundreds of fetish categories this year after it was cited in several criminal cases, Baku said in a February online note to members. . The Associated Press . The Associated Press . . July 4, 2017 . July 3, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170703233108/http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/07/04/world/crime-legal-world/man-tapped-abduction-101-forum-denied-bond-kidnapping-suspected-murder-chinese-scholar/ . July 3, 2017 . dead .
  23. Web site: Feast . Fancy . Users On A Site For Kinky People Say The Racism Has Become Unsustainable . BuzzFeed News . August 29, 2023 . October 16, 2020.

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