Why Has Instagram Removed Posts of Artwork Depicting Female Nipples?
What do Lisa Yuskavage, Carolee Schneemann, and Madonna have in common? Instagram removed posts about their artistry because the images depicted the female nipple.
Instagram’s Community Guidelines
Instagram’s Community Guidelines contain provisions that protect artist’s rights – for example, they forbid intellectual property infringement and impersonation. They also contain a policy on nudity, requiring users to “[p]ost photos and videos that are appropriate for a diverse audience.” The Community Guidelines provide:
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. This includes photos, videos, and some digitally-created content that show sexual intercourse, genitals, and close-ups of fully-nude buttocks. It also includes some photos of female nipples, but photos in the context of breastfeeding, birth giving and after-birth moments, health-related situations (for example, post-mastectomy, breast cancer awareness or gender confirmation surgery) or an act of protest are allowed. Nudity in photos of paintings and sculptures is OK, too.
So according to the Community Guidelines, images of female nipples generally are not permitted on Instagram, except images depicting:
Breastfeeding
Birth giving and after-birth moments
Health-related situations (for example, post-mastectomy, breast cancer awareness or gender confirmation surgery)
Act of protest
Nudity in photos of paintings and sculptures
We use a combination of technology and reports from users to determine if certain content goes against our Community Guidelines. We then use either technology or a review team to remove anything that doesn't follow our standards as quickly as possible. . . . The standards apply to everyone, all around the world, and to all types of content…. If you don’t think Instagram should have taken down your post, you can sometimes Request a Review of our decision.
Per Instagram, violating the Community Guidelines can result in deleted content, disabled accounts, or other restrictions.
How Are Artists Impacted by the Community Guidelines?
Successful artists’ work has run afoul of Instagram’s Community Guidelines. For example, Instagram reportedly removed images of Carolee Schneemann’s performances posted as a tribute to her legacy following her death in 2019. After Instagram removed a photograph Lisa Yuskavage had posted of herself and two topless women from a 2000 magazine promoting that year’s Whitney Biennial, the artist reportedly posted “im canceling my account out of protest of the hateful way women and their bodies are suppressed….”
Recently, recording artist Madonna criticized Instagram for removing photographs from her page because part of her nipple was exposed. When she reposted the images (with strategically-placed emojis covering her), Madonna wrote: “Can’t a man[‘]s nipple be experienced as erotic?” In response, Instagram stated that “our rules are designed to help keep everyone of all ages safe on our apps, while giving space for as much expression as possible.”
Take-Away Point
Whether Instagram’s nudity policy is overinclusive is open for debate. But like it or not, users must adhere to Instagram’s Community Guidelines. Users with questions about whether their content is authorized by any social media site should familiarize themselves with the platform’s rules.
