Does Instagram Have A Sexist Double Standard?

 
UPDATE: Instagram has restored this account and issued the following statement: "We try hard to find a good balance between allowing people to express themselves creatively and having policies in place to maintain a comfortable experience for our global and culturally diverse community. This is one reason why our guidelines put limitations on nudity, but we recognize that we don’t always get it right. In this case, we made a mistake and have since restored the account." Instagram's user guidelines take a firm stance against nudity and "mature content." But, as we've reported, determining what types of posts break the platform's "rules" is very much a gray area, and a lot is left open to interpretation by Instagram's moderators. This was made especially clear earlier this week, when a picture of two women in bathing suits cost the Australian online magazine Sticks and Stones their Instagram account. The women in the photo weren't naked, and there was nothing sexual or offensive going on — unless you are offended by visible pubic hair, which apparently Instagram is. "Unfortunately, Instagram has ruled out natural hair that appears on all bodies of women that don't trim their bikini lines," Ainsley Hutchence, the Sticks and Stones director, told Mic. You can’t help but wonder whether photos of men are being held to the same standard. Hutchence doesn’t think so. She went on to tell Mic, "Clearly this is absolutely sexist. Instagram believes that women should wax or get off their platform." Honestly, Instagram, we'd love it if you focused on banning posts that are actually offensive — we'd even settle for a tighter crackdown on spam. Because pubes are far less objectionable than comments telling us we can "Earn $500 a week from home, click to find out how."