Tom Of Finland and Slava Mogutin\u2019s \u2018Sexy XXX Files\u2019 Challenges Tumblr Ban<\/b><\/p>\n
When some artists heard the news that Tumblr was going to begin banning all explicit content<\/a> on December 17th, many who use the platform began to worry about where they could migrate their content.<\/p>\n Exiled Russian artist Slava Mogutin<\/a> worried about the impact this ban will have on queer art.<\/p>\n \u201cFor me, the personal is political and the political is personal,\u201d Mogutin said in a statement. \u201cAt a time when our fundamental constitutional rights are under attack, I believe that queer imagery can serve as the most effective weapon against hypocrisy, bigotry, and censorship. When they censor my work either on social media or in real life, my response is always double up on the queer, double up on the fight and what they don\u2019t want to see. I want to shine light on the darkest corners of human nature and sexuality as a way to understand and peacefully coexist with each other, because being different is a blessing, not a curse.\u201d<\/p>\n Slava Mogutin\u00a0 was granted political asylum in the U.S. with the support of Amnesty International and PEN American Center in 1995.\u00a0He and other queer photographers like Ryan McGinley\u00a0<\/a> both defined\u00a0and<\/em>\u00a0documented the brash, sexy, and gritty beauty of\u00a0 the downtown\u00a0 East Village scene in New York.<\/p>\n In a 2013 interview, Mogutin told<\/a> The Advocate<\/em>\u00a0he was born Yaroslav Yurievich Mogutin in the industrial city of Kemerovo, Siberia. He was 14 years-old\u00a0 when left home and moved to Moscow, where he worked as a journalist and editor. Mogutin traded in controversy and defied authority so vehemently that by age 21, he was charged with \u201copen and deliberate contempt for generally accepted moral norms,\u201d \u201cmalicious hooliganism with exceptional cynicism and extreme insolence,\u201d \u201cinflaming social, national, and religious division,\u201d and \u201cpropaganda of brutal violence, psychic pathology, and sexual perversions.\u201d<\/p>\n You know. A bad boy<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n Mogutin says he curated SLAVA MOGUTIN: XXX FILES<\/em> with the Tom of Finland Store \u2014 as well as a run of\u00a0signed, limited-edition prints<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 as a response to censorship across social media.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n There used to be a platform for Queers artists and a place to make Queer friends. It was a sex-positive space. No more. Remember to logoff #Tumblr today for 24 hours. TWITTER @ TomsFoundation<\/a><\/p>\n A post shared by Tom of Finland Foundation<\/a> (@tomoffinlandfoundation) on \n