Twitch Bans Use of Words 'Simp,' 'Incel,' and 'Virgin'

Twitch COO Sara Clemens announced earlier today at the company's town hall that starting next month, the words "simp," "incel," and "virgin" will be banned when used as an insult. How does Twitch plan on enforcing this rule? We'll let them try and explain.

"We will take action against the use of terms like 'simp,' 'incel' or 'virgin' specifically when they are being used to negatively refer to another person’s sexual practices," a Twitch spokesperson told The Verge. "Using these terms on their own wouldn’t lead to an enforcement but we would take action if they were used repeatedly in a harassing manner."

These changes are part of Twitch's effort to overhaul its harassment policy following a number of complaints about abusive behavior. A Medium post has compiled a list of the hundreds of accounts that have been accused of misconduct.

In addition to specific terms, Twitch will also not allow people to make "derogatory statements about another person’s perceived sexual practices or sexual morality," as well as "sexually-focused terms" about someone else.

Twitch launched a review of its policies towards hateful conduct and harassment earlier this year. The former was addressed last week when the company specified that blackface, swastikas, and the Confederate flag were being banned under its hateful images policy, explaining that "this is not new, but the new guidelines will make the standard clearer for everyone."