Censored image posted to Instagram in 2019. ©TheFemmeProject
the hypocrisy of community guidelines
On the last day of 2021, Sotheby's shared their most liked post of the year on their Instagram account. The post on December 31st – a photo by contemporary Hollywood photographer Tyler Shields entitled “The Cat” – garnered 35,129 likes. The original post on February 26, 2021 has 58,642 likes and 558 comments. What makes this post so unique and a catalyst for a blog post? The photographic post in question is a direct violation of Instagram’s Community Guidelines surrounding nudity and it remains posted, unflagged, and unrestricted as of today.
In the photograph, the model (who remains nameless and untagged in both posts) reclines fully nude on a bare mattress in a blank room, her face and torso inclined toward the camera. Her body and form presented in the same monotonous and shameless trope: to satisfy the male gaze and garner likes. And why would it garner such attention? Because the woman in the photograph bares uncensored nipples. She is the nameless projection of white male desire and beauty, as well as an acceptable form of art that circumvents community guidelines. Her nipples are shown without scribbles, crosshatches, or pixels. Nipples that are not being used in the context of breastfeeding, birth giving and after-birth moments, health-related situations or an act of protest as per the acceptable use guidelines for photographic nipple nudity outlined by Instagram.
I could enumerate the brazen hypocrisy and bias of social media and the tech giants. I could rage against the patriarchy and a system intent on filtering out real female bodies and marginalizing the marginalized. I could list the abundant articles and research available that detail how Instagram harms young women and caters to celebrities and our addiction to social status. I could report the post. But these acts of well-meaning protest would all just end up falling on deaf ears. My flames of feminist fury are extinguished and hopes of justice will continue to be unsatisfied. Instagram is not a democratic platform. It is a business. A business that exists to make a profit. And it profits off of our inability to quit it.
the censorship bias for women and artists
Censorship has long been a concern of the Femme Project. As an artist who focuses on aspects of gender identity, body image, and sexuality, many of my posts have been flagged and deleted for much less than a stray nipple. When a friend pointed out Sotheby's post to me, I was immediately outraged. Once again, the double standard prevailed. In this photograph, the expression of women’s sexuality and the representation of the female body have been co-opted by a straight, white male perspective. By allowing the post to sidestep their own rules, Instagram, and by extension, tech companies, are defining what is acceptable art and ideal body and beauty standards for women.
Instead of focusing on the injustice and the statistics to back it up, I’d like to use this opportunity to explore how we can affect change. How can we support women, artists, and other individuals and communities that have been marginalized and discriminated against on Instagram?
Get the fuck off of social media and engage where it counts.
The answer is quite simple: get of off the social media platforms and engage with artists, creators, and individuals. The average Instagram user (not a business account and one that doesn’t pay for ads) doesn’t reach a significant portion of their total following by design. Instagram posts average an engagement rate of less than 1% and Instagram stories reach about 5% of an intended audience. And little to no information exists about how many accounts are shadowbanned for content – artistic, educational, or otherwise – that may have violated these arbitrary and seemingly subjective guidelines. Think about how much is missed on any given day. In preparation for this post, I went digging through my Instagram feed and following for accounts that posted content and imagery supporting free expression by women. What I found was a barren landscape and idle monuments to women’s issues. Many accounts don’t exist (ex. @photo_by_frau_rabe or @censoredbodies), or the profile hasn’t posted new content since 2019 (@genderless_nipples). Some had to create additional backup accounts based on the fact they had been deleted and banned so many times (see @censoredbodies2 or @nipeople / @nipocrisy_).
We can’t change the algorithms, but we can boost the signal and visibility of messages that matter.
Let’s talk about the artists. Many of them have their own websites, email newsletters, and alternate outlets with which to engage with their art, their message, and their content. Since Instagram filters, buries, and censors content and profiles that don't fit their narrow, sexist and subjective community guidelines, you may find that the internet is an old school way to begin. Start by exploring their website content, subscribing to their email lists, or becoming a patron to their fan sites. Do they have a podcast? Listen to it. Make substantive comments on their posts, send messages through their contact forms, or leave positive reviews on third party sites. If they are in the business of selling things, buy their art and merchandise. Unique artwork makes for great gifts and sharing that with others increases the profile, audience, and visibility of their message. Nothing is more encouraging than taking the time to engage in these ways. It says that you are listening, you see what they do, and that you care. It means more than a thousand meaningless likes or heart emojis on any social media outlet.
If the last couple of years have illuminated anything for me, it is that we are quickly losing touch with many of the things that make humanity so special, diverse, and wonderful. The pandemic has created a sense of isolation for us and allowed the rise of political tribalism, intensified the war against sex and women’s bodies, and advanced the spread of capitalist greed. The free and unbridled expression that art provides is, perhaps, the greatest gift humanity can give to itself.
all it takes is a little time
Take the time to engage. Take the time to give your support. Take the time to step away from social media and connect with content and art that is suppressed by a system that thrives on making billions from a limited world view. Change doesn't happen overnight, but we can move it along faster. We can be the change we want to see in small steps taken collectively to create a landslide of difference.
And hell, you might even find that you didn’t miss the last 30 minutes, day, or week off of social media.
