I have to say that while perusing available jobs and items for sale on Craigslist I have never actually noticed the elephant in the room with the thigh high boots on. But underneath the expansive grey and somewhat rudimentary Craigslist homepage; behind the seemingly innocent discussion forums and dead-end waitressing jobs lurks a seedy reality that has recently been forced out of its second hand closet and into the public eye.
I am of course referring to the ‘Adult’ link on Craigslist, which used to be a one way ticket to all manner of illicit encounters until recently. Following a barrage of opposition, Craigslist USA has pulled the plug on the tab, replacing it with a black and white bar that reads ‘Censored.’ This will be a bitter pill to swallow for the 15year old site, who, according to a study by aimgroup.com generated 30% of their revenue from the X-rated section of their site. And that figure was only expected to increase.
It must be noted that it is only the USA that has put a stop to Craigslist’s fledgling career as a pimp daddy. Across the rest of the world, it is still hustling away and stackin’ up the dirty cash. If you take the time to look at Craigslist Melbourne, the ‘Adult’ tab is still touting for business, (although I think it would be made much more effective in flashing neon). It is interesting that on closer inspection, it becomes apparent that a considerable amount of the content featured on Craigslist Melbourne is in fact X-rated. From the jobs advertised in the TV/film section to the kink and queer forums, it would seem that Craigslist actively embraces publicising the private. It would seem that the American Craigslists have retained these functions outside the ‘Adult’ tab too, so really, by introducing the Censored tab, the moral crusaders have not triumphed after all. Conversely, they may have even given Craigslist a boost in publicity, and thus traffic. And so what?
An article in Wired chronicles the lawsuits and backlashes that Craigslist has had to deal with and also points out, quite rightly, that they scrutinise all ads that are submitted, and have rejected over 700,000 due to inappropriateness. Despite this, claims have been thrown around by various sources accusing Craigslist of exacerbating child prostitution, trafficking and even being responsible for murder. CNN launched an investigation highlighting how easy it was to sell sex on Craigslist, and while it is a credible piece of journalism, I do think that Craigslist is one of many, and not by any means the worst offender.
It makes me a little bit mad. There are countless sites where people can gain access to adult services. I think that Craigslist is being scapegoated for the ills of many. The internet is by definition a place where freedom of speech is upheld as an integral value. Even squeaky clean Gumtree has adult themed sponsored links on its site. Putting a Censored button on the adult section of Craigslist is never going to put a stop to prostitution. There are only very rare cases when censorship actually works for the betterment of society. Like with Big Phil here…..
(I’m really sorry I just did that to you dear reader. Please come back next week.)
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