Women Are Protesting Instagram's #Curvy Ban With Body-Positive Photos
Last week it was made public that Instagram had blocked users from searching the tag "curvy." Instagram told BuzzFeed that curvy is no longer searchable because "it was being used to share images and videos that violated Instagram’s community guidelines around nudity."
The body-positive women of Instagram, however, are having none of it.
After BuzzFeed pointed out on July 14 that Instagram had made the term "curvy" unsearchable, many women took to the social media platform to protest the ban. Using hashtags such as #BringCurvyBack, #Curvee and #EffYourBeautyStandards, women of all shapes, sizes and colors posted photos of their beautiful curves to prove their bodies will not be censored.
Instagram has a history of coming under fire for censoring women's bodies, specifically women's nipples, body hair and menstrual blood. There is certainly an argument to be made for preventing users from searching hashtags that are primarily populated by nudity, which goes against Instagram's community guidelines. However, the body-positive tag #Curvy has been blocked, while terms such as #Fatf**k and #Pussys (*warning* super duper NSFW) are still searchable.
As Instagram user Poppybirrd pointed out: "So Instagram deleted #Curvy because of pornographic content but the hashtag tittyf**k is still very much alive and active."
"We're still gonna post our big beautiful fat bodies and we will celebrate them whether you like it or not #BringBackCurvy," user Allasonlewis wrote in a post beneath her selfie.
User Chicainthecity23 perfectly summed up the body-positive protest, writing, "We exist!!"
Yes, #Curvy women do exist and they will not be silenced. Take a look at the gorgeous body-positive women below who are protesting Instagram's #Curvy ban, one photo at a time.
unfiltered
Exit
Voices
Exit
Enter
Suvarnabhumi Airport, Thailand