The popular knitting website Ravelry issued an edict Sunday banning expressions of support for Donald Trump and the Trump administration, citing a prohibition promoting “open white supremacy.”
“We are banning support of Donald Trump and his administration on Ravelry,” the new policy stated. “This includes support in the form of forum posts, projects, patterns, profiles and all other content.”
“We cannot provide a space that is inclusive of all, and also allow support for open white supremacy,” Ravelry added. “Support of the Trump administration is undeniably support for white supremacy.”
It’s not clear what led the site to issue the new policy, but concerns apparently included knitting projects as well as comments. The site promised not to delete any data for projects in process.
New membership sign-ups were also suspended Sunday.
Ravelry, which boasts some 8 million followers, describes itself as a user-driven site for “knitters, crocheters, designers, spinners, weavers and dyers to keep track of their yarn, tools, project and pattern information and look to others for ideas and inspiration.” The Ravelry name currently features an image of a rainbow Pride flag. Before the national Women’s March in 2017, many knitters posted patterns for pink Pussyhats on the site.
“We are not endorsing the Democrats nor banning Republicans,” the statement said. “We are definitely not banning conservative politics. Hate groups and intolerance are different from other types of political positions. We are not banning people for past [Trump] support.”
Responses to the Ravelry announcement were largely positive:
A Ravelry spokesperson couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
Already contributed? Log in to hide these messages.