When the Algorithm Meets Feminism: Bonnie Blue, Outrage Machines and the Cost of Visibility
Can build a Digital Feminism movement that heals?
“This is a very thoughtful piece, Lucy.”
That’s what I commented when I first read Lucy Morgan’s recent article in Glamour about Bonnie Blue, a Channel 4 documentary star and adult content creator whose platform, story, and visibility have sparked outrage and curiosity alike. Read the article here.
The piece left me with several questions and not simple ones.
Has Bonnie Blue cracked patriarchal algorithms at extreme cost, risk and unintended consequences?
Has tech bro culture coded a new politic of feminism—one that weaponises choice and sexual expression to serve male pleasure?
Or is this simply a version of feminism some feminists dislike, and we must learn to sit with discomfort while respecting women's agency?
Right now, I sense it’s a messy mix of all three. And perhaps that’s the point.
Feminism as Systemic Change or System Hack?
From a values perspective, Bonnie’s approach doesn’t align with my expression of feminism. It feels like the “girlbossification” of the adult content industry—wrapped in empowerment language, but operating within the same structures many of us are trying to transform.
Still, I respect Bonnie’s right to express her feminism. That’s the deal, isn’t it? If we say we want intersectional, plural feminist spaces, we can’t decide someone’s practice of feminism is invalid simply because it makes us uncomfortable.
But when those choices are amplified and monetised at scale—especially via algorithmically-boosted systems—we must also ask: who benefits? And who bears the cost?
We’ve Lost Our Stakeholder Maps—and Our Shared Language
From a policy development standpoint, we’re overdue for a more intentional, inclusive, and emotionally intelligent set of conversations.
Where are the seats at the table for:
Children’s rights organisations
Parents and caregivers
Radical-pragmatic feminists
Social workers supporting boys and neurodivergent youth
Content moderators and Trust & Safety teams
Adult industry workers and educators
The voices of young people themselves?
Post-pandemic, we’ve lost the art and infrastructure of real stakeholder consultation. And even more worryingly—we’ve lost the tone. We’re talking at, not with.
We’re broadcasting rage instead of listening.
We’ve mistaken moral signalling for movement building.
It’s time to bring back human conversations. The kind where people show up not to win but to solve. That’s where our policy foundations should begin.
When Does Empowerment Become Harm?
Another question I keep circling back to:
When does someone like Bonnie Blue—her story, content, brand—begin to cause broader harm?
Not just to “public morals,” but to:
Healthy relationship education (which, let’s be honest, is in crisis)
Children and vulnerable adults navigating sexuality and safety online
Cultural norms around consent, intimacy, and commercialised connection
I’m not suggesting censorship. I’m suggesting rigour. The same way we apply it to gambling, alcohol, even advertising to children.
AI, Algorithms, and Sexual Behaviour Norms
From a Trust & Safety and content moderation perspective, this gets thorny quickly.
But we need to ask:
What are the standards for modelling healthy sexual relationship behaviours online?
How are AI, LLMs, product design flows learning from this content?
What are they de-amplifying, or worse, ignoring?
Why are we okay with platforms allowing ads to profit from these narratives, while health and education content gets restricted or flagged?
This isn’t about blame. It’s about building infrastructure for care and foresight in digital environments.
And Then There’s the Outrage Machine
One of Lucy’s most powerful insights was about the outrage machine.
YES.
This is a feature, not a bug, of our digital platforms. They’re designed to:
Disregulate us
Divide our partnerships
Dismantle trust
Erode nuanced feminist dialogue
Push us into purity politics and public shaming
“If you didn’t post about X, you’re dead to me.”
We’ve all seen that energy. It’s not accountability. It’s coercive control.
And it’s keeping us sick.
"Resist with what you have." — Misan Harriman
Posting online is one form of resistance, but it's not the only one.
Shaming, trolling, and inciting pile-ons because someone isn't resisting your way? At best, it's performative. At worst, it's emotionally abusive.
And isn’t it telling how outrage posts often outperform updates on the actual news post?
Let that sink in.
Don’t confuse the illusion of community with the reality of shared values. Social media creates parasocial relationships—one-sided bonds that can’t bear the weight of accountability.
Accountability requires consent.
It starts with shared principles, trust, and ongoing commitment. Not indirect subtweets or viral takedowns. Not holding influencers and celebrities—people you've only encountered through screens—to the same standard as elected officials and policy-makers.
We need a new social contract. One rooted in real community, not algorithmic rage.
We also need space to reflect on how AI and platform design have chipped away at our capacity for compassion, nuance, and human connection.
"When people show you who they are, believe them." — Maya Angelou
Next time you feel anger toward someone for not meeting your unspoken expectations, pause. Ask:
Were those expectations ever voiced?
Did they agree to them?
Are you projecting hopes onto someone who never signed up for the role?
Channel that energy into solidarity—with those aligned in values, those resisting in ways you might not always see, those showing up in their own lane.
I’ve felt this too.
After Trump’s win—and later, the delayed outrage after George Floyd’s murder—I was furious. Furious at the silence, the slow responses, the performative allyship.
But some of that anger was misdirected. Inflamed by social media, fed by shame and outrage algorithms that gave more reach to my rage than my calls for peace.
These platforms are designed to divide. And that division slows our progress and weakens our collective power.
Let’s resist that, too.
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Toward a Digital Feminism That Heals
The work now is to pause. To examine what’s happening beneath the surface of our reactions.
When we feel triggered, disoriented, outraged—can we stay curious instead of reactive?
Can we name the parasocial dynamics at play before we demand accountability from someone we’ve never met?
Because building healthy online (and offline) communities takes more than clever critique. It takes intention, compassion, and practice.
It takes being the kind of digital citizens we say we want to see.
Sx
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