Photos that Instagram won't show you
Have you ever wondered what happens to photos that are deleted from instagram for violating community rules? Artists Arvida Bistrem and Molly Soda asked Instagram users to send them their photos, which were deleted from the social network. They were sent hundreds of images, which were enough for a whole book called "Proof or not: photos deleted from Instagram."
The censorship of Instagram has been known since the advent of the app, and Arvida and Molly have always openly expressed what they think about it. Molly told Dazed: "The female body is constantly being controlled and restricted — so why should instagram be any different?"
The authors of the book "Proof or Not" seek to push the boundaries of how we perceive the female body in art. Molly Soda explains: "We women learn to be critical of our bodies and the bodies of other women — a strong sense of shame is embedded in all of this. The female body causes a strong fear: if it is naked, the photo immediately becomes pornographic, even if the author did not have such an intention."
The Instagram community rules state that all "photos with scenes of violence, images of a naked or partially naked body, as well as discriminatory, illegal, violating someone's rights, hate propaganda, pornographic or obscene materials" are removed.
Some photos really violate these rules — for example, one of them shows a completely naked girl facing the camera. But other prohibitions are less obvious: a woman presses a mobile phone to her ear with a hijab.
Dialog on the mobile screen: — Don't you shave your legs? — What, I'm sorry? — I'm sorry, I didn't mean anything like that, I was just wondering.
Keywords: 18+ | Body positive | Prohibitions | Social network | Photobook | Censorship