In November 2018, after being suspended from Apple’s App Store for
hosting child pornography, Tumblr announced its decision to ban all NSFW
(not safe/suitable for work) content with the aid of machine-learning
classification. The decision to opt for strict terms of use governing
nudity and sexual depiction was as fast as it was drastic, leading to
the quick erasure of subcultural networks developed over a decade. This
article maps out platform critiques of and on Tumblr through a
combination of visual and digital methods. By analyzing 7306 posts made
between November 2018 (when Tumblr announced its new content policy) and
August 2019 (when Verizon sold Tumblr to Automattic), we explore the
key stakes and forms of user resistance to Tumblr “porn ban” and the
affective capacities of user-generated content to mobilize engagement.