(Correction: the first "abstinence" userbox reads "This user practices
abstinence", not ""This user practices abstinence but still has a healthy
sex drive thank you very much."")
On Tue, May 14, 2013 at 11:01 AM, Katherine Casey <
fluffernutter.wiki(a)gmail.com> wrote:
I've noticed that enwp has a *lot* of
sexuality-related userboxen. Some
of these are innocuous or positive (i.e.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:UBX/LGBTsupport), some seem to be a bit
over-share-y (
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:UBX/abstinence_reluctant),
and some seem downright creepy to me (
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:UBX/girlfriendwish). When you put them
together (for example, as found on the - real but anonymized - userpage
excerpt here <http://gyazo.com/fa31a70c0b5bf29600a3058ae6dc4d6e>), you
can very easily end up with what feels like a very, very sexualized
userpage, which means a very, very sexualized user experience for anyone
who visits that page. Reading the userpage that screenshot came from, for
example, gave me the feeling that anyone female who speaks to that user is
going to be evaluated for their sexual usefulness to the user.
Userboxen can be a sensitive issue, historically speaking, and everyone
seems to draw the line differently between appropriate ones and
inappropriate ones. I'm interested in getting some thoughts on where the
line is, and on whether the ones that cross the line inappropriately
sexualize the atmosphere on the project. My personal feeling is something
along the lines of "Speaking out about your sexual identity is good, but I
don't want to hear about what specific sexual characteristics you have or
want your sexual partners to have". I'd welcome the lists's thoughts on
whether any, some, or none of the following userboxen (not an exhaustive
list of sexuality-related ones, just some I've pulled out as good examples
of the question) are appropriate to have hosted and used on our projects:
- Abstinence:
-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:UBX/abstinence ("This user
practices abstinence but still has a healthy sex drive thank you very
much.")
-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:UBX/abstinence_sex_drive ("This
user practices abstinence but still has a healthy sex drive thank you very
much.")
-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:UBX/abstinence_not_SRT ("This
user practices abstinence for religious reasons, but disagrees with the
Silver Ring Thing.")
-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:UBX/abstinence_unsure ("This
user practices abstinence but is not sure whether through shyness or
through moral choice.")
- Fetishes/philias/sexual identity:
-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:UBX/aquaphile ("This user is an
aquaphile.")
-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Dark_Tichondrias/Userboxes/User_Cross-dre…
user enjoys cross-dressing.")
-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:ISD/Userboxes/Dominant ("This
user is a dominant." - also available in sub)
-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Oxguy3/myboxes/Straight_not_narrow("…
user is straight, but not narrow.")
-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Cadwaladr/Userboxes/Pornography("This user
enjoys pornography.")
-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:UBX/slut ("This user is a
slut.")
-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:UBX/swinger ("This user enjoys
a varied sex life.")
-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:UBX/yiff ("This user loves
yiff, and is probably a furry.")
- Preferences for sexual partners:
-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Bluedenim/Blondes ("This user
considers blond hair to be attractive." - also available for brunnettes,
redheads)
-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:UBX/girlfriendwish ("This user
wishes [they] had a girlfriend")
- Miscellaneous sexuality-related:
-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:UBX/safesex ("This user
supports and encourages the practice of safe sex.")
-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:UBX/sex ("This user enjoys
sex.")
-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:TBM10/Uncircumcised ("This user
is proudly uncircumcised")
-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Sugar_Bear/Userboxes/User_varied_sex(&quo…
user enjoys a varied sex life. (Alternating between hands
constitutes varied, right?)")
-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:User_Single ("This user is
single")