A promotional video for the Warwick Rowers’ seventh annual calendar has been removed from YouTube due to concerns about nudity.
The Warwick Rowers’ annual calendar aims to raise money for Sport Allies, as well as “to promote positive, inclusive and respectful attitudes towards people of all genders and sexualities”. It has twice been voted the UK Charity Calendar of the Year.
Speaking to TenEighty about why he believes the ban to be unfair, Angus Malcolm, producer and photographer for the Warwick Rowers, says:
“The fact that social media platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, and Google arbitrarily censor content simply because ‘someone under the age of 18 might see buttocks’ is totally unfair. We are very careful that content freely available to everyone is tasteful which is why we don’t show any frontal nudity. It is through the use of our free content that we convey our message, and reach the youth who need to hear it the most.”
YouTube’s policy on nudity states that: “A video that contains nudity or other sexual content may be allowed if the primary purpose is educational, documentary, scientific or artistic, and it isn’t gratuitously graphic.”
“It is not adult content,” Angus affirms. “Our project is intended to support young people to come to terms with their own sexuality and to become more tolerant of other people’s. It’s also about encouraging a healthier self-image, both physically and mentally, through sport. There is a lot of mainstream support for this message and how we deliver it.”
Angus goes on to say that the ban has discouraged the rowers from using YouTube as a platform to promote the calendar: “In an effort to reach more people with our message, we decided that we should give the platform a try. We understand the importance of having a presence there. However, at this point we will continue with an alternative such as Vimeo to broadcast and promote our videos.”
The promotional video has since been uploaded to Vimeo:
The rowers and Angus have also referred to a similar previous experience with Google: “Several years ago, the plucky Warwick Rowers were thrown off Google Checkout’s payment processing service without notice – a decision that was upheld on appeal.
“Bizarrely, Google were a lot more relaxed only a few days ago when the Warwick Rowers reported that a Google user was illegally sharing their charity fundraising content,” they added. “Google twice rejected the Warwick Rowers appeal for help, before shutting up shop for the weekend with the content still available, and did not manage to respond effectively until after the rowers threatened legal action against the corporation.”
The Warwick Rowers’ 2017 calendar is available to purchase online.
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