Instagram has been enraging millions of women lately. Every month you read about a woman defending her right to post unfiltered and realistic images of her body without being accused of violating guidelines by simply daring to redefine a stereotypical beauty standard.
Females everywhere have been sensing double standard vibes from the photo sharing application. This is not about the right to share nudity, as it is a big no-no for men and women alike. This is about having the right to dare look different than a photo shopped model and not get reported and censored because your post showing pregnancy saggy skin left your followers gagging.
On various occasions, Instagram apologized for banning certain images and restored them, yet the question still remains: When will this world accept the reality of a female as a bleeding, breeding, dimply and hairy being?
Breastfeeding
Women are constantly complaining that even when they respect Instagram’s “No fully exposed breast” guidelines, their breastfeeding photos still get banned. Currently, Instagram is showing more tolerance and there are countless accounts dedicated to normalize rather than hide it.
Menstruation stains
Artist Rupi Kaur is all what everyone is talking about this week after posting a photo of a fully dressed woman with a blood stain on her pants. Regardless what would drive a woman to post something such as a period stain (which by the way was to prove that societies shun this natural process), it is biology that perplexes the world.
Plus-size women
Remember when Samm Newmann posted a selfie in a white bra and polka-dots boy shorts and got censored? Well, it was not a one-time thing. Meghan Tonjes, musician and YouTube blogger, suffered from the same fate for posting a butt selfie, yet Dan Bilzerian posts thousands of photos of women’s body parts and the photos remain safe and sound on his account.
It is not a coincidence that plus-sized girls get banned for showing extra skin. People for some unexplained reason are offfended by them.
A post-pregnancy body
A few women decided to share with the world the real changes that happen to a female body after childbirth and the photos got banned. One can only think this was a result of showing women as non-sexual beings. Thankfully, Instagram now is filled with natural-looking, post-pregnancy body parts.
A different grooming choice
An Australian online magazine posted photos of women with untrimmed bikini lines from a photoshoot. Hutchene, the agency’s director, said “Instagram seemS to be OK with man pubes. Clearly, this is absolutely sexist. Instagram believes that women should wax or get off their platform.”
WE SAID THIS: Don’t miss Male Body Image: The Big, Chiseled Elephant in the Room