Instagram’s nudity policy is paradoxical
Facebook and Instagram’s no-nudity policies are enforced inconsistently. Some breastfeeding photos or historical paintings have been removed from the sites, while Kim Kardashian’s infamous recent nude shoot have been everywhere on both platforms.
Though it might seem impossible to have non-sexual nude images in a society that objectifies women and sexualizes children, the definition of pornography goes beyond nudity. Pornography must contain two components: sexual organs or activity, and the intention to stimulate erotic feelings.
When women post photos of themselves breastfeeding, they intend to evoke emotional responses.
Museums post images of nude sculptures or paintings for artistic value. And when Chelsea Handler posts her naked body on the Internet, she does so for comedic effect.
Handler herself made the distinction in the caption of one of her Instagram posts. “Just so I’m clear, Instagram,” she wrote. “It’s ok to use nudity to sexualize yourself on your site, but not to make a joke? I’m just so confused.”
Yet, when Kim Kardashian (of sex tape fame) posts her greased and perhaps Photoshopped body on the Internet with a faux-surprised smirk, the intentions are less clear. Is this art? Is this pornography? That may depend on who is looking at the photo. Whether or not this image holds social value is up to you.
That Facebook and Instagram chose not to ban Kim Kardashian’s image is not shocking. They must feel it holds artistic value. But Instagram chooses to see artistic or social value in a greased body and not historic art, breast-feeding or humor.
It could be argued that society today sexualizes all nude images of women, whether or not they are provocative in nature. In fact, the recent street-harassment video indicates women are sexualized whether they are clothed or not.
By keeping sexual images and removing those that hold social value, these social media sites send a clear message to today’s youth that use them daily: women’s bodies exist to be sexually stimulating, and if they are not serving that purpose they should be removed from sight.
A recent Daily Trojan article argued Kim Kardashian’s recent photo contributes to young women’s eating disorders and body shame. Beyond that, her photo also encourages the self-objectification that many powerful women today in pop culture partake in for power, at the cost of being ignored for talents beyond having a hot body.
But Chelsea Handler’s images do neither of those things. Handler is un-Photoshopped, looks more like the average American body than Kardashian’s altered images do, and best of all, prove the female body can have a purpose beyond sexuality.
She inspires a generation of young comedians who wonder why male comedians can use nudity and sex for humor but women cannot. Not only are Handler’s images non-sexual, but they also serve a dual purpose: comedy and female empowerment beyond objectification.