Did you know some corporations have flimsy, non-standard policies about what types of homophobia they’ll tolerate? It’s true! And we don’t mean in the workplace with underpaid staffers, but rather the types of language they’ll allow customers of their services to use. In this (very brief, non-scientific) exploration into language censorship, we’re going to look at three giant, publicly traded companie, whose policies on hate speech are contradictory, misguided, or simply in need of a computer algorithm update.
Vada
I am glad to see that “fag” is treated as a curse word on these websites (other issues/words aside).
Whup-ass Master
Enough with the word hysteria. If I want to ask Continental about the best fag-fisting travel options in Salt Lake City, I’d appreciate a non-judgemental response, thank you. Besides, I just like the image of a Continental employee doing research on fag-fisting, arranged by price and convenience.
Yuki
Xbox Live supposedly bans any mention of any sexual orientations whatsoever in gamertags and profiles; I’ve seen users like “SatansGreasyKok” and “Ladiesman”, though, so… that’s a bit debatable.
Paul
I was on a Continental flight last summer, and the in-flight entertainment was an episode of How I Met Your Mother–the word “lesbian” in the sentence “People will think this is a lesbian bar” was bleeped out.