Is Vocal promoting pornography?

I’ve had several people who read my Vocal articles to ask me if I’m writing for a porn site. I try to explain that Vocal has various categories but the community named Filthy gives a lot of people pause. Most recently a top story is being questioned by those who say they don’t think porn should be promoted as an editor's pick. Others question why there is a category named Filthy and have voiced that a different less in your face name for the community could have been used.



I’m just a creator for Vocal and I don’t make the rules but I admit the above choice for a top story caused me to feel somewhat embarrassed. I understand that there are others who enjoy this community and see no problem with it. For every person who would say the Filthy category is inappropriate there are others who are happy to engage in the stories that are written in this community. On Facebook groups related to Vocal there is always someone asking how to get one of their stories featured.

I don’t have an answer but a number of my stories have been top picks and they all were different. Perhaps it depends on the editors who are reviewing what’s been created on a specific day. There are probably Vocal creators who have been wondering how to have their work chosen as an editor’s pick and they will now try their hand in the Filthy category to see if it works for them.

For most people, the definition of the word that is spelled F I L T H Y is anything that is described as dirty, nasty, contemptibly offensive, vile, or objectionable or basically undesirable. For others, the very word draws them in. Different strokes for different folks is what I always say but in the meantime let’s explore where Vocal creators are focusing their energy. we have no way to know how many people are reading in each community but perhaps that may come at a future date.



The poetry community has the most creators and stories of any other that is associated with Vocal. Coming in second would be the Humans community.



The Geeks category is third as far as stories that were written but has a smaller ratio of contributors.





Families is next with regard to the number of creators as well as stories written.



Cleats is the community with the least number of articles contributed and also the lowest number of creators.



The Filthy category is somewhere in the middle of the scheme of things right now. It's clear based on the statistics that the majority of those who create for Vocal are more in tune with expressing themselves poetically, being human, family relations, and the entertainment industry than they are for what is considered as "Filthy."

Whether you agree with it or not, Filthy is a community on the Vocal platform. No one is forced go to that community or to write for it. Even so, I’ve had readers tell me they are uncomfortable searching for stories on Vocal when the first thing they see is an article boldly proclaiming self-pleasure. AKA masturbation. Is Vocal attempting to normalize that which once was disdained or are they simply showcasing articles in multiple categories and this just happens to be one of them?

The big question is will the Vocal platform gain readers by offering this community or lose views because Filthy is considered offensive by so many? The world is ever-changing and a lot of what once was disdained is now celebrated. Vocal has added a number of new categories recently and who knows perhaps in the future they might discontinue those that are underperforming or causing great offense. Perhaps they will also one day add more communities where the creators enjoy writing and the readers keep coming back for more. In the meantime, I’ll stay in my lane and write for the categories I enjoy. I will also brace myself for the fact that the top story on the home page may not be my cup of tea. but someone else may enjoy it.