Chelsea Handler’s Instagram campaign is becoming a lot more pointed and personal. Her first topless shot, which showed the comedian shirtless astride a horse alongside Vladimir Putin’s now-infamous photograph in the same pose, was ostensibly in the name of feminism. When Instagram removed it because it violated community guidelines, Handler seemed even more vindicated in the name of fighting gender inequality and freeing the nipple.
Her next nude photo had two goals: To question the authenticity of Kim Kardashian’s ample behind on her Paper cover, and see if Instagram would be more lenient on photos of butts — which both men and women happen to have. It’s been two days and the photo is still up, so clearly Instagram’s community guidelines are okay with rear-end shots. Point made, right?
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Wrong. There was still the issue of Handler’s first goal, which she stated in the caption. “Can you believe more than 2 ass can fit on the same screen? Guess which one’s real,” Handler wrote. It seemed she was calling into question the image on the Paper cover and the #BreaktheInternet response to it. But(t), she was also mocking Kim Kardashian.
Now that more photos have emerged in which Kim is entirely nude, Handler has again returned to Instagram to make things even more personal. Last night, she posted two copies of the same photo. In it, she is standing in the doorway of a bathroom waving; her underwear is around her calves. “Get ready insty. Here I come!!” the first is captioned. The second version of the photo is captioned, “Don't worry, I would never show my peekachu, 1)because I have a familly [sic], and 2)oh yeah...TALENT. Thanks for making the rules clear, instagram,”
Now, Kim’s photoshoot is not free of problems, but at the end of the day, she is the one who chose to pose — just like Chelsea Handler is the one who decided to share images of her breasts and butt on Instagram. Both women posted the photographs on social media and allowed them to be passed around in the media.
It’s interesting that what Handler thinks crosses the line into disrespecting one’s family territory is allowing a photograph of one’s “peekachu” to be disseminated. Also, that Instagram might be removing her images — but not Kim’s — because she has talent and isn’t viewed by many as merely a sexualized object.
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Neither Kardashian nor Instagram has responded to Handler’s latest photos.