fiction is not a crime: misuse of the word "CSAM"

lately, i've noticed people blurring the line between fiction media and real harm. specifically, calling fictional work CSAM. i want to be clear: i am a victim of CSAM/CSEM. i know firsthand what it means when an actual child is exploited, recorded, and commodified. the impact of that is lifelong and shapes how i move through the world.

that's why it frustrates me so much when the term "CSAM" is thrown at fictional content. CSAM is child sexual abuse material. by definition, it involves the documented abuse of real children. fiction, whether through text or illustration, does not involve the exploitation of an actual child. lumping the two together isn't just flat out inaccurate, it dilutes the seriousness of what CSAM actually is.

when you call porn CSAM, you're calling CSAM porn. porn is staged by consenting adults. CSAM is real abuse. conflating them labels abuse as entertainment, and that silences survivors. the word that describes our trauma gets co-opted for online discourse and moral panic instead of naming real harm.

you can critique fiction without criminalizing it. you can dislike it, you can call it disturbing, you can have strong moral objections. that's your right. but equating fictional scenarios/art/stories with crime doesn't protect children; it erases real abuse while restricting thought and speech. censorship has always been hidden behind "morality." 

i need people to understand that being anti-censorship doesn't mean endorsing every corner of the internet. it means refusing to criminalize thought, imagination, or art. even if you don't like it. 

fiction is not CSAM. my abuse was. please learn the difference.