YouTube backtracks, allows Calgary trans man’s shirtless vid

Earlier this year, Xtra reported on how Facebook banned Calgary trans man Dominic Scaia after he uploaded a post-op chest pic. Scaia’s account was eventually reinstated, and Facebook apologized. (Though Scaia still has the occasional problem with Facebook deleting his pics…)

The latest? Scaia’s video of his post-op chest was removed from YouTube because of “nudity.” The video-sharing site has strict policies prohibiting sexual or graphic content, and YouTube’s nudity policy is vague and arbitrarily applied.

Alex Blaze, managing editor of the Bilerico Project, got in touch with YouTube and they have now reinstated Scaia’s video. “We’ll be doing some additional training around these issues,” YouTube told Blaze.

Here’s the video that got Scaia in trouble:

Scaia’s YouTube case highlights a growing problem: large gatekeepers of information have too much control over what we can and can’t see. Companies like Facebook, YouTube and Apple are too tough on queer and sexy content, and when they choose to censor, it’s hard to appeal their decisions.

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