Post-social media: de-platformed users’ challenges to belong in ‘corpo-civic’ spaces

For content creators that use nudity and sexuality as a form of expression, networking and as a source of income, community membership is key. Yet, access to that community is constantly under threat due to content or account removal, known as de-platforming. Through interviews with content creators who had experienced de-platforming, this paper explores their ‘corpo-civic’ relationship with Instagram and TikTok, hybrid locations caught between a work and social space mirroring these platforms’ hybrid nature, between corporate ownership and public use. In doing so, we reflect on the challenges of aspirational creator work and its related difficulty in building, managing and engaging communities in precarious spaces, especially when threatened with de-platforming and relying on a hybrid friend/customer relationship.