Twitch bans use of simp, incel, virgin, and other insults

Olivia Richman Published 18/12/2020

Simp has been used so much over the past few months that it no longer has a clear meaning. Now, it may not be allowed on Twitch to begin with.

Twitch has noticed the uptick in the streaming community’s use of the word, which technically means a man who acts overly nice to a woman in hopes of getting sexual attention for their efforts. Recently, the word has also started to be flung around as insults towards any man that shows kindness or respect to a woman, usually a female streamer.

In response, the streaming platform has banned use of the word. Other banned insults include the use of “incel” and “virgin.”

Twitch COO Sarah Clemens explained the updated policy in a live stream yesterday. She told viewers that simp is being banned due to a revamped policy that prohibits “derogatory statements about another person’s perceived sexual preferences.” This includes “negatively targeting” another person with “sexually-focused terms,” Clemens said.

Clemens pointed out that “simp,” “incel,” and “virgin” won’t result in automatic bans. It will depend on the situation and context in which they are used. Twitch will only take action when the words are used to harass someone else.

“We will take action against the use of terms like ‘simp,’ ‘incel’ or ‘virgin’ specifically when they are being used to negatively refer to another person’s sexual practices. Using these terms on their own wouldn’t lead to an enforcement but we would take action if they were used repeatedly in a harassing manner,” Twitch wrote to The Verge.

Twitch bans use of simp, incel, and virgin

Twitch updated their harassment policy earlier in the month in an attempt to target sexual harassment in particular. While this is often directed at people acting inappropriately towards female streamers and viewers, it seems that the goal is for all types to be protected from certain types of harassment.

The surprising update was first noticed by esports insider Rod “Slasher” Breslau. He tweeted about the policy yesterday before Clemens’ official live stream regarding the update.

“People online are absolutely overusing these terms that they’re meaningless, and losers constantly misuse terms like simp to attack anyone who says anything nice about women,” Slasher said. “However, this likely won’t address either of these problems. So perfectly on-brand for Twitch rules.”

Twitch now says that you can no longer call others ‘simp’, ‘incel’, and ‘virgin’ as they are now against TOS, along with any emotes relating to the term simp

Twitch baby, what is you doing?
— Rod Breslau (@Slasher) December 16, 2020

While most of the people responding to the news felt that Twitch was overreacting with this policy, others felt that Twitch was where “simp” and “incel” were spammed too often. They said that the terms are overused and misused.

How much money do Twitch streamers make?

On average, full-time streamers can make between $3,000 to $5,000 a month if they put in 40 hours or more. This doesn’t include ad revenue.

There are outliers, and some of these are connected to the terms that Twitch has now banned. There was talk of individuals regularly giving up big chunks of their paychecks each week to streamers such as Imane “Pokimane” Anys, before she initiated her new $5 donation cap.

Olivia Richman

About Olivia Richman

Olivia has worked in media ever since graduating from college, with her coverage ranging from traditional newspaper reporting to digital coverage of all things gaming, online betting, and nerd culture. She has traveled around the world pursuing that coverage, from the far coasts of the United States to the busy downtown core of Tokyo, Japan. Olivia’s favorite games include Overwatch and Super Smash Smash Bros, and she has been published at Esports Illustrated, Inven Global, EsportsInsider, Upcomer, and elsewhere.

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