Patreon & Hypnosis: Don't Panic (Patreon)

A few hypno themed Patreon accounts have been put under review over the past 2 weeks. There was an article about it here: https://www.dailydot.com/irl/patreon-hypnosis-porn-ban-sexual-violence/

The most significant aspect of the situation is that for the first time ever Patreon mentioned the term “hypnosis” in a list of restricted content.  This has panicked a lot of people within the community. 

We encourage everyone not to panic, and here’s why:

None of the Patreon accounts from the article have been fully taken down (or banned). They were restricted for a while but they are all up now, and it appears only 2 out of the 3 involved had to remove any content. 

Patreon made a response to the author of the Daily Dot article.  Patreon said, “[A] violation of our policy is when hypnosis is used as a coercion mechanic for nonconsensual [sexual content], typically in a fictional scenario, at which point we consider it to be a glorification of sexual violence,”.

Not all kinky hypnosis is being targeted.  Only hypnosis which may have more extreme non-consent scenarios.  In addition, “hypnosis” has not been formally mentioned on Patreon’s official Terms of Service as a restricted topic.

In this current phase, Patreon seems to be very eager to help Patrons become compliant within their guidelines. Again, no one was banned (to our knowledge), the 3 accounts from the article are still standing. Patreon makes a lot of money off of NSFW content. We believe they know it is in their best interest to keep NSFW content creators on the platform.

We have made ourselves very much known to the Patreon staff. We wrote a Trust and Safety Team member last week after the first restriction happened- we outed ourselves as kinky hypnotists, and we’re still here.  We have repeatedly told Patreon staff members over the years that we do kinky/fetish NSFW hypnosis content, and they have been cool about it.  

It is possible that the new events represent a change in Patreon’s mentality, but that remains to be seen.  Only a few months ago we attended an online Patreon workshop for NSFW creators, and they as a company seemed very aware that there is smut on their platform. We did not get the impression that they are shying away from that. 

Their main restrictions are no pedophilia, no incest, no bestiality, and no rape (non-consent). These are not bad standards for a company to have. In addition, Patreon is also super picky about NSFW content not being free & public facing, which is the main reason we have seen accounts get restricted in the past.  Also we can’t clearly say yet whether the affected Patreon accounts weren’t breaking other Patreon guidelines.

Obviously it is going to get strange when you are dealing with situations which are purely imagination driven. It brings to question what counts as “depictions”.

This being said, just in case everything disappears tomorrow check out our website www.ultrahypnosis.net or our YouTube channel.  We’ll post updates there.

Remaining on Patreon for the immediate future is our goal.

If we need to adapt to change to new restrictions regarding perceived non-consent, then we will adapt. We can make hot, fascinating content that can be compliant with Patreon’s standards (should Patreon ever clearly outline those regarding the hypnosis kink world).  This will just force us to use our creativity more.

We’ve already removed a few questionable files from the Patreon archive on our own.  They will find a new home elsewhere. We encourage all Patrons to download any mp3s that you want archived for yourself, just in case Patreon decides to prune our account.

Also, some of you may have noticed that we have started adding a “Consensual Fantasy” label, along with a consent & safety statement, on many of our Patreon files.

We want it to be clear, each and every one of our files should be fully consensual in a functional sense. Even if not clearly stated, you have permission to wake up at any point if you feel uncomfortable or uninterested in continuing to listen.  You always have the power to turn off a recording or to reject suggestions. There may be fantasies within these recordings which deal with a perceived loss of control, but the reality is, the listener is always in their own personal state of control. 

We don’t know what distinction Patreon will make in regards to what levels the consent applies to : the fantasy or the function, but regardless, we want it clear, you can always opt out, just like you opt in for all of our recordings.

So with all this said, we are continuing on as normal, but with a bit more creativity and mindfulness about how we frame “control”. 

We welcome all our Patrons to leave a comment on this post about how erotic hypnosis has benefited you. Additionally, how do you feel about having the right to choose to participate in risky themed hypnosis scenarios?