Instagram Censors Photo of Fully Clothed Woman on Period, Causes Uproar

[runnah]

Why would someone post that anyways?

Read the link I posted above - it gives the picture more context. It was part of a larger project she was doing for her university studies.

Its bodily waste, since when did that turn into a political statement?

 

[rexbobcat]

It's just rather annoying how she's not using this publicity to help move the conversation along. Instead of bringing to the table a thoughtful discussion about why this issue goes beyond just "Ew that's gross, delete" and changing public perception is actually a step in the right direction for changing women's rights for the better across the globe, she went this route:

"i bleed each month to help make humankind a possibility. my womb is home to the divine..."

Yeah, I think Tumblr can have Rupi Kaur. I'll be paying attention to Malala Yousafzai and others.

But she did move the conversation along by writing a hell of a lot more than that soundbite provided above. When Instagram took her picture down the second time, she posted the picture on Facebook with more than 500 words of commentary on it.
The Removal Of Rupi Kaur s Instagram Photos Shows How Terrified We Are Of Periods

Ah, I didn't see that.

I still think she's trying too hard to appeal to emotion instead of trying to educate, even though she did bring to the reader's attention some issues she has faced. I feel like she's patting herself on the back without really giving us anywhere to go.

I hope she goes forward with the project in some way, because awareness by itself is the laziest (albeit most common) form of activism.

 

[rexbobcat]

I think I'm just jaded against online activism, because it often seems to go nowhere after the fact.

"Okay, I did that project and got lots of publicity. Now, time to move on to the next cause."

I always hold out hope that it doesn't turn into that, however.

 

[rexbobcat]

Double post

 

[Mattis]

I have extreme respect for women for having to deal with that nonsense every month. Bleeding from your genitals? Cramps? No thank you! If women ever take over the world they have earned it, that crap is mental!

As for the whole Instagram thing, they decide what can and can not be posted there. She doesn't own that website. It sucks but that's how it goes. At this point she might as well use the attention she is getting from the media to promote her own website. That would be more effective than whining about Instagram removing the photos...

 

[W.Y.Photo]

There's a sign hanging right by my front door.

I'm with pixmedic. So when you're on Instgrams' website, you're at their house. So you get to play by their rules.

If you don't like their rules, don't play there. Go somewhere else, or start your own website so you can play by your rules.

I understand this. I don't think anyone's saying that instagram doesn't have the legal right to do this.. just that its wrong for them to over-censor such a public forum. I mean its like the whole net neutrality argument.. such a public area should be held somewhat responsible (at least by its users) for allowing freedom of expression, otherwise, why don't our landlords just stop letting women have periods in their apartments? Why not put up "No Period's allowed" signs on all the women's restrooms in private establishments?

 

[runnah]

To me it's the wrong way and place to make a message.

It's gross, no different than showing skid marks in underwear or semen on a sock. Just because it's natural and happens doesn't mean the world wants to see it.

 

[rexbobcat]

To me it's the wrong way and place to make a message.

It's gross, no different than showing skid marks in underwear or semen on a sock. Just because it's natural and happens doesn't mean the world wants to see it.

It's a double-edged sword in today's society. If you're too civil, too thorough and balanced with your arguments, then you probably won't be noticed.

However, if you try to get the attention of the public by shocking their sensibilities, you run the risk of insulating yourself in a cocoon of like-minded individuals, making it impossible to reach those who need to hear and understand your message the most.

 

[photoguy99]

It's not at all clear what rule or guideline she violated. The only thing that appears applicable is the "no mature content" in the community guidelines, which specifies that you ought not put pictures up you wouldn't show a child. I think you can make a case that children are exactly who should see this sort of content. There's no end of little board books with titles like You And Your Monthly Visit From The Blood Fairy for girls that cover this exact same thing.

It's just instagram being a bunch of prudes again.

I'm regularly disheartened by TPF's attitude of "meh, photography for political/social change? that's just PC crap. can't we talk about DoF some more?". I mean, it's a photography forum. It's right there in the name. Photography has been a potent sword for the forces of change for a century. It's kind of a thing it does. It's practically built in.

 

[pixmedic]

It's not at all clear what rule or guideline she violated. The only thing that appears applicable is the "no mature content" in the community guidelines, which specifies that you ought not put pictures up you wouldn't show a child. I think you can make a case that children are exactly who should see this sort of content. There's no end of little board books with titles like You And Your Monthly Visit From The Blood Fairy for girls that cover this exact same thing.

It's just instagram being a bunch of prudes again.

I'm regularly disheartened by TPF's attitude of "meh, photography for political/social change? that's just PC crap. can't we talk about DoF some more?". I mean, it's a photography forum. It's right there in the name. Photography has been a potent sword for the forces of change for a century. It's kind of a thing it does. It's practically built in.

well, while I agree with you to some extent, I would like to clarify something, just for the record.
I will preempt my statement by first saying that on this forum, the Mods dont make the rules.
I am going to assume that most social media sites are similar in that fact, and that there is some sort of moderation team that handles content.
in the case of TPF, there are rules against discussions on religion, politics, and even (technically speaking) brand wars.
posting a picture showing some form of social or political commentary isnt a problem, so long as the discussion is tailored towards the picture(s) itself, and not on political issues. yes, its "built in" to photography to some extent...but the forum still has rules in place, so the commentary has to stick to the picture.

its possible that some instagram mods deleted the post due to multiple reports. maybe they just jumped the gun, maybe they were just erring on the side of caution. in the end, whether because of social media pressure or just mod team discussion, the pictures were put back with an apology. thats as much as instagram can do really.
sometimes thats the best we can do here too. i have seen many pictures deleted, and then after a discussion, reposted.

its not a perfect system, but its what we have. sometimes we just have to make do and roll with the punches.

 

[rexbobcat]

It's not at all clear what rule or guideline she violated. The only thing that appears applicable is the "no mature content" in the community guidelines, which specifies that you ought not put pictures up you wouldn't show a child. I think you can make a case that children are exactly who should see this sort of content. There's no end of little board books with titles like You And Your Monthly Visit From The Blood Fairy for girls that cover this exact same thing.

It's just instagram being a bunch of prudes again.

I'm regularly disheartened by TPF's attitude of "meh, photography for political/social change? that's just PC crap. can't we talk about DoF some more?". I mean, it's a photography forum. It's right there in the name. Photography has been a potent sword for the forces of change for a century. It's kind of a thing it does. It's practically built in.

I don't think it's a bad thing that we want to critique these projects. Their noble intent does not make them beyond reproach.

How the message is delivered, as well as the container its delivered in, all matter just as much as the message itself.

 

[limr]

To me it's the wrong way and place to make a message.

It's gross, no different than showing skid marks in underwear or semen on a sock. Just because it's natural and happens doesn't mean the world wants to see it.

Period blood isn't the same as skid marks. They are preventable. People can learn to wipe their own arses properly. A woman can't always prevent leaking, and if it happens, it's not the result of poor hygiene. Some women bleed so heavily that they have to change pads constantly. Nighttime is always a problem unless you want to wake up every few hours to change.

I would argue that possibly semen on a sock might be more equivalent because there are certainly places where masturbation is considered a shameful act that requires punishment or shunning. Then a picture of the sock would be a form of activism - talking about a taboo, or showing a picture, drawing attention to a taboo is itself breaking the taboo and calling for change.

However, masturbation is still a voluntary act, and it doesn't have to be done into a sock. Menstruation is not voluntary, and yet it's still considered shameful, like it's our fault. If her purpose was to start a dialogue about our perceptions of menstruation, then how else does one do that effectively? Would this conversation really be happening if just posted the text she wrote without accompanying pictures?

 

[runnah]

Couple not so serious points.

1. Skid marks aren't alway preventable
2. Masturbation isn't always voluntary.

Serious points.

1. What's the end game here?
2. Regardless of the intent is it still not less than appealing?
3. I get not shaming but are we to celebrate?

 

[limr]

Couple not so serious points.

1. Skid marks aren't alway preventable
2. Masturbation isn't always voluntary.

Fair enough. I guess

Serious points.

1. What's the end game here?
2. Regardless of the intent is it still not less than appealing?
3. I get not shaming but are we to celebrate?

1. Supposedly, it's to make menstruation less taboo so that women aren't shamed for it anymore. And shaming is the least of it in most places. In parts of the world, women are shunned, not even allowed to leave their own homes while menstruating.

2. It doesn't matter if the picture is appealing. In fact, I would think that it's kind of the point: leaking is not really a pleasant fact of menstruation, but is it really grosser than all the other stuff that's on the Internet that is NOT being censored by anyone?
Her words from her Facebook post (Rupi Kaur - Timeline Photos Facebook)

as a part of my final project for my visual rhetoric course i created this image along with a full set which you can view at www.rupikaur.com to demystify the period and make something that is innate "normal" again cause rape categories in porn are okay. objectification and sexualization is okay. people getting off on naked underage women. bondage. torture. humiliation. abuse is okay but this makes them uncomfortable. that's what this work is supposed to do. make you as uncomfortable as you should feel when you watch others get abused and objectified.

3. I think her point is that it should be normalized, not seen as sick, dirty, and secretive. Again, her words from the same post:

in older civilizations this blood was considered holy. in some it still is. but a majority of people. societies. and communities shun this natural process. some are more comfortable with the pornification of women. the sexualization of women. the violence and degradation of women than this. they cannot be bothered to express their disgust about all that. but will be angered and bothered by this.

So it's not really about "celebrating" menstruation, but simply not being outraged by it.

 

[The_Traveler]

As far as the post, it was a deliberate, successful and great provocative act.
More power to her.