This Is Social Privilege

[TW: Sexual Assault]
I know that some people will not see eye to eye with me on this, but I think this is something that needs to be changed. It is said that if you truly love something you must criticize it to make it better. While I love tumblr, and parts of its community, there are things that bother me.
One such thing is the follow button. It is a matter of language, I would much prefer that people instead subscribe to my blog instead of following it. The word “follow” is deeply triggering to my dear friend Sophia. She was sexually assaulted by a man who stalked her over a period of months before attacking her next to her car outside a bar. The episode was deeply traumatic for her and has crippled her socially as she has become reclusive to all but her closest friends. She is triggered by stalking, following and related concepts.
You may ask, what does this have to do with social privilege? It has much to do with inherent extrovert power structures. A subscription is something that a user waits on and is inherently socially neutral. It implies that the exchange of content is just that, an exchange as opposed to an obligation. However following is inherently socially extroverted, as it implies the content purveyor will be hounded by their following for regular postings. This is not an equal exchange as it puts obligation on myself and others to generate content or face the anger of our following. This is a simple example of an oppressive microstructre, something that seems benign given its size but instead reflects much broader sociocultural values of an unjust society. While it may seem like a waste of effort to remove or change such microstructres, by ignoring them we reinforce the subconscious cues they imprint upon us. We must change the small things before we may change the larger problems with ourselves and our culture.
I love tumblr and most of its communities, but it like any other platform has flaws, and flaws must be corrected.