Etsy search for children’s programme showing dildos

[SilverCatStripes]

This isn’t a feminist issue per se , its a safeguarding one. I posted this in aibu and was surprised to see people falling over themselves to normalise having a rainbow dildo coming up in a search for
a popular children’s programme - I know that the majority of posters who use the FWR board are sensible when it comes to safeguarding matters - so please let me know your thoughts !

This is my original post :

Searches on Etsy for Children’s programmes returning dildos- FFS!!

I have just been searching for Gravity Falls merch on Etsy, and was presented with Pride Dildo in the search results, for anyone not familiar with the show it is a childrens show, primarily aimed at the pre teen/early teen market and children would be likely to use “Gravity Falls” as a search on Etsy - what pride dildo’s have to do with Gravity Falls is completely beyond me , this is hugely inappropriate particularly as one of the characters (who is 11 I think ?) is famous for her rainbow jumpers.

I have tweeted Etsy (linked tweet below- don’t care if it is outing will
name change at some point) but this isn’t just me thinking this inappropriate is it -

am I being unreasonable to think there shouldn’t be dildos coming up in searches for children’s programmes ??

Link to tweet

twitter.com/SilverCatStreak/status/1532299605425152001?s=20&t=ZtnCErX9mqpENHNPqsO6vw

Etsy is famously not bothered about adult stuff.
There is loads of it. Whatever you do, don't click on it to report it or the algorithm will think "person who wants to see a lot more dildos" and spam you with more.
Etsy will do the sum total of fuck all about it, because they hide behind the fact you have to be 18 to have an account.
Best not let children anywhere near the place.

I'm sure they've come up before on here. And done nothing about it(!).

It is wrong though OP, I'm sorry you had a bad time in AIBU.

Doesn't come up on mine. is it not linked to your cookies ...

Came up on mine too.

I once googled Olaf at the height of Frozen’s popularity and got an eyeful of leather jock strap. It happens.

Unfortunately with Gravity Falls there is a lot of fanfic. Mainly involved with ‘twincest.’ For such an amazing show it attracts a lot of perverts.

It’s bloody rubbish isn’t it - perverts ruining kids shows.

I posted this in aibu and was surprised to see people falling over themselves to normalise having a rainbow dildo coming up in a search

You do like that "falling over themselves" expression don't you?

I think what you meant was "I got my nose out of joint because people didn't agree with me and they rightly highlighted that Etsy is an adult site and DC shouldn't be on it unsupervised, and it's no more a safeguarding fail by Etsy than it would be by Waterstones if your DC picks up Fifty Shades of Grey and reads some of the dirtier pages".

As for perverts ruining the show, I haven't noticed a material change in any of the episodes since they came out, they seem exactly the same to me!

Unless you need to prove you're 18+ to access it, then it's not an adult site. It's open to anyone who can type.

From Etsy's terms and conditions. OP whilst one might not have expected a search to produce that result it really is up to the parent not to have allowed unsupervised access.

1. Your Account with Etsy

You’ll need to create an account with Etsy to use some of our Services. Here are a few rules about accounts with Etsy:

A. You must be 18 years or older to use our Services. Minors under 18 and at least 13 years of age are only permitted to use our Services through an account owned by a parent or legal guardian with their appropriate permission and under their direct supervision. Children under 13 years are not permitted to use Etsy or the Services. You are responsible for any and all account activity conducted by a minor on your account, and there may be commercial products or services available that you may want to consider to limit a minor's access to material online. For more information, see Etsy's Minors Policy.

It's a website where sellers can have all kinds of things for sale, from handmade cards and pretty jewellery up to and including some fairly ahem niche sex toys, lingerie, pornographic art etc.

I'd say it's definitely not a site for children, but you do you.

"I posted this in aibu and was surprised to see people falling over themselves to normalise having a rainbow dildo coming up in a search for a popular children’s programme - I know that the majority of posters who use the FWR board are sensible when it comes to safeguarding."

I'm not really sure what the point of this is. If it's self-validation and you scour the internet in ever-decreasing circles you will eventually find people who back you to the hilt and find the whole thing an intolerable outrage (maybe a right-wing US religious forum, somewhere in Saudi?)

But you still won't get dildos taken down from Etsy.

Why are dildos turning up in a search for gravity falls at all?

I stand by it. If it's open access - which it is - it's not an adult only site. Can't be if children can access it. It just can't.

That is the actual issue. And why in relation to a children's programme?

This is my idea of an adult only site. You can't buy cigarettes without confirming your age.

This. You are easily linked to etsy from an innocent Google search.
Etsy should get rid of its adult content, or have a specialist site for it.

Do you supervise all Internet searches?
Unless you have very young children this is impossible.

Do I just put in ‘Gravity falls’, then ‘Gravity falls rainbow’ and ‘Gravity Falls merch’

non of which produced a photo of a dildo.

I do think it’s connected to cookies.

It's nothing to do with cookies. The dildos appear on page 3 or 4 of the results (I'm not going back to check which!)

I have scrolled and scrolled and there’s no dildo on mine.

Although to be clear, I don’t think it should be there at all.

But it’s definitely not showing on mine.

It doesn't come up for me. I did see a wicked inspired bookmark, an old book inspired candle, and a mug with a book quote on it. Which makes sense as I've been looking for similar items, trying to create a library corner in my sitting room.

So it would seem that it's related to previous searches. Did you search for pride merch, or could someone else have searched for it from your account?

That is a weird thing to come up linked to a children's programme and don't let anyone tell you different..

😬