Published on
Page last updated on
This article is based on the speech given by Bishakha Datta at the Disco-Tech event organised by APC that took place at the 2014 Internet Governance Forum in Turkey.
Five snippets from three months.
In August, Indian actress Poonam Pandey dons a bikini for the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge and posts a video of it on Facebook. Facebook’s reaction? Ban the page, which is followed by 2.1 million people.
Why? We don’t know.
In July, American teenager Samantha Newman instagrams photos of herself in her bra and undies, like many other teens. Instagram’s reaction? Take down her page, not that of the other teens in inner wear.
Why? She’s too fat.
“Fat is not a bad word,” says Samantha Newman, who gets her pic back online after a hue and cry. “How confident can you be if you keep censoring yourself because people don’t want to look at you?”
Another Instagram moment. Scout LaRue Willis posts a photo of herself “in a sheer top and a post of a jacket I made featuring a picture of two close friends topless.” Guess what happens? She gets kicked off Instagram and the platform deletes her account.
Why? Nipples aren’t kosher on social media. (But non-nippling nudity is.)
Read the full Feminist talk in GenderIT.org.
