Three mothers share nude photos on Instagram. Only one is removed
THREE mums posted a naked photo on Instagram. Only one of them was removed. Clearly there’s a double standard here.
I POSTED a photo of myself naked on Instagram last night.
It took me a fair bit of courage, but I wanted to do it because too many women think there is something wrong with their bodies.
(Spoiler: there isn’t anything wrong with anyone’s body.)
I’m sad to say that less than 12 hours after I posted it, Instagram removed my photo for breaching their community guidelines.
Instagram is full of images of naked women (and naked men, too.) Above, we’ve posted my photo alongside two other images we found on Instagram. Both the other images are still live at the time of writing this post.
Three mums, writer and former Home and Away star Christie Hayes, reality TV personality Kim Kardashian, and me there in the middle.
Three naked photos, all of them perfectly tasteful and natural.
But despite that, mine is the only one that has been removed by Instagram because it breaches their community guidelines.
Which is a real shame, and a clear double standard.
The guidelines say, “We know that there are times when people might want to share nude images that are artistic or creative in nature, but for a variety of reasons, we don’t allow nudity on Instagram.”
Instagram doesn’t allow images of genitalia, sexual intercourse or close-ups of fully nude buttocks. In relation to nipples, they’ll allow photos of breastfeeding women and women who have had mastectomies. (In my photo you can see some areola, but you can’t see my nipples.)
What I don’t understand is why my photo was removed but Hayes’ and Kardashian’s photos are still up.
Given there are no material differences in the photos, all I can do is assume that my photo was removed because images of fat women, untouched and unposed but still proud and confident, are offensive.
After all, we’ve all been taught that tummies and rolls and bingo flaps and thunder thighs should be covered up at all cost, that they are indications of an immoral person hiding underneath the fat, that the fat person is somehow defective.
Is being a confident, happy fat woman still so countercultural that we believe their images should be censored?
Why post a naked photo on social media at all, people ask.
All three of us have very good reasons for sharing these photos of ourselves.
Kardashian shared her photo with the caption “#liberated”, making an important statement about female nudity and empowerment.
Hayes shared her photo as a beautiful statement of support for a friend who was struggling with her body during pregnancy and who wanted to know that she was normal.
I shared my photo because I’m taking part in a body positivity project that will be launched early next year, and I think it’s important to show the world that women, no matter their size or shape, can be confident in the bodies they’re in.
The project features nine women, most of whom are mothers, who share their own personal stories as they have learned to love their bodies. I can’t share too much before the project is launched; these women deserve the chance to tell you their stories in their own words. But I can tell you that in this group there are women who have recovered from eating disorders, women who have been abused, and women who have been bullied and victimised. They are all strong and inspiring and beautiful.
I don’t always put myself in the same basket as actors and models, I wish that my photo could be considered in the same light as Christie’s and as Kim’s; that all three of us have something important to say about women and to women, that the three of us are all working to lift women up, and to empower them, be they fat, thin or pregnant.
Since you can no longer read the post on Instagram, here’s what I wrote last night. I hope that, if you’re struggling with your body image as we all do from time to time, that it might mean something to you today:
“So, a few weeks ago I did a crazy thing.
“Not a ‘haha, you’re so funny Alys’ crazy thing. Like, an actual, YOU ARE INSANE crazy thing.
“In a room full of people, albeit very warm and supportive and loving people, in a room full of people, one of whom had a camera and another who was wielding a video camera, I took off all of my clothes and I had my photo taken with the express purpose of writing about it, and my body positivity and putting it all on the internet.
“I’ve done modelling for life drawing classes before, and I’ve shared photos of me in my undies online before so at the time it felt like a pretty chilled thing to do.
“But that was the middle of October. I got the photos back two weeks later and it has taken me until now to come to grips with the idea that I would actually one day hit ‘share’ and ‘post’ and then they would be up.
“I’m normally a pretty body confident kind of a gal. I’ve written plenty about my body; about being a fat bride (in tribute to the extraordinary Lindy West), about ‘The Beauty Myth’. I’ve served up my anger at being othered by hopelessly uneducated fitness ‘gurus’ and I once invited Michelle Bridges round for tea and cake so she could meet a happy fat person.
“But there are times I have to work really hard at that confidence. And these past six weeks have been the hardest I’ve had to work for a while.
“The photos are for a body image project that’s been put together by my friend, writer and mother and woman Olivia White. The photos were taken by Catherine Meyer. There’s more to come with this project in early January; more women, more stories and more of my own story.
“In the meantime, I’m sharing this now because it’s time, because I’ve dug deep and found the confidence (with thanks to some dear friends) and because I hope that if you’re standing in front of the mirror feeling like you too have to dig deep for confidence you know that we’re all there in the trenches with you. Every one of us. And we love you.”
Kidspot has been in touch with Instagram for a response. Alys has also requested the decision to remove her photo be reviewed.