Oh, Facebook.

Dear Facebook:

I’m a big fan of Facebook. I love this place. I love how you bring people together on a deeper level than in face-to-face conversations sometimes, because we can connect on levels that sometimes are masked by our everyday lives.

But as a romance writer, I would be remiss if I didn’t advocate for rethinking your recent crackdown on talk of sexuality.

I understand why you did it. Preventing exploitation and crimes is a worthy goal. And yes, you aren’t a platform for only 18+.

Unfortunately, preventing talk of ANY sexuality prevents talk of HEALTHY sexuality. Since my platform is positive mental and sexual health, I am not sure what I can and cannot do anymore.

Do I need to use euphemisms?

Do we need to go back to the days of not talking about it?

Can we talk about sexual orientation?

I often advocate for romance novels as a misunderstood art form. One that acknowledges that people, especially women, deserve to be loved and cared for. Sometimes that love shows up in a physical way.

But now we can’t talk about it.

You chose extermination rather than a more thoughtful and nuanced approach. I am advocating for a more thoughtful and nuanced approach.

Is there a way to make certain pages/groups not open to minors?

Can you have increased reporting of solicitation?

Can you have people opt out of ads/posts they don’t want to see?

Oh wait. I think all of those are in place already.

Facebook, please roll back this change. It’s going to be like Prohibition where it won’t stop anything except healthy use.

I hope there’s a way to make Facebook return to a welcoming place for all.