In case you missed it, late last week Instagram got into a little trouble for taking down the picture above twice! Photographer Rupi Kaur a photograph of a fully clothed woman lying in bed with a period stain on Instagram.
I have found the debate around this picture a little humorous. On one hand the world is happy to view, share, and even critique visual images of the female form, yet something quite natural is somehow viewed as off putting and deleted? The whole period picture saga really forces us to think (again) about who is behind the pictures we are allowed to see, who dictates what is OK to be in the mainstream media and what isn’t? Why is a topless picture of a women allowed to float around uncensored but we turn squeamish when its a red dot and not a bikini body? I am curious as to what fellow African/Nigerian women think? Is this one picture too far? Or should we be allowed to talk openly about our periods as we are our waistline?
The below is an article culled from the Telegraph which sums up the whole debacle quite nicely.
Last week, Photographer Rupi Kaur posted a photograph of a fully clothed woman lying in bed with a period stain on Instagram. It was deleted twice by the social media site because it didn’t “follow [their] Community Guidelines.”
The guidelines prohibit sexual acts, violence and nudity – they do not mention anything about periods. Kaur took to Facebook to write: “Thank you Instagram for providing me with the exact response my work was created to critique. You deleted my photo twice stating that it goes against community guidelines.
“I will not apologise for not feeding the ego and pride of misogynist society that will have my body in an underwear but not be ok with a small leak when your pages are filled with countless photos/accounts where women (so many who are underage) are objectified, pornified, and treated less than human.”
She explained that she created a series around menstruation to “demystify the period and make something that is innate ‘normal’ again.” Her original response to the takedown can be read in full below.
Over the weekend her post was shared thousands of times, and Instagram eventually reinstated the photo and apologised.
On her website, Kaur shared the email from Instagram which read: “A member of our team accidentally removed something you posted on Instagram.
“This was a mistake and we sincerely apologise for this error. We’ve since restored the content, and you should now be able to see it.”
Kaur then wrote on Instagram: “Your belief in the work, it’s message, and your movement to not quiet down has forced Instagram to place both deleted photos back of my grid.
“You are a movement, that is the power you hold my beautiful people, and I am so proud of you. Of us.”
Menstruation is still considered taboo in most societies, but campaigns such as an ad by HelloFlo aim to break the silence around periods.
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