Nyome Nicholas-Williams Wins The Battle Against Censorship And Instagram Updates Its Policy On Nudity

“I want to ensure that I am respected and allowed to use spaces like Instagram, as many other creators do, without the worry of being censored and silenced.”
While going on our Instagram feeds, we regularly come across semi-naked slender Caucasian women. Yet, things seem to be a little bit different, when dealing with coloured women, plus-size users and other marginalised groups. Following last August Nyome Nicholas-Williams’ controversy, Instagram and its parent company, Facebook, have updated their policy on nudity. Their new rules aim to tackle the discrimination experienced by many on social media, in order to ensure that all body types are equally treated.
When it comes to nudes and sexual images, Instagram, like most social media platforms, monitors its content and observes certain community guidelines. However, recently some have alleged the social media algorithm and its policy to be inherently race biased and discriminatory toward non-conventional body shapes. The policy officially forbids “close-up of fully exposed buttocks” but also “bare female nipples.” Yet, on several occasions pictures of naked women showing their curves and bumps or covering their busts were removed. It is well known that Instagram is a battlefield. And when a controversy is raised, it is dealt with through hashtag bullets.
It all started with a casual interview during which plus-size Black model Nyome Nicholas-Williams confessed to the Observer that her nude photos were repeatedly deleted by Instagram and she was warned that her account could be closed down. Soon after, social media arena spoke, creating the #IWantToSeeNyome.
“Millions of pictures of very naked, skinny white women can be found on Instagram every day. But a fat black woman celebrating her body is banned? It was shocking to me. I feel like I’m being silenced,” Nicholas-Williams said .
To respond to the increasing backlash from its users, Instagram and Facebook’s new policies on nudity now allow “content where someone is simply hugging, cupping or holding their breasts.” An Instagram representative told Business Insider that hearing Nicholas-Williams’ feedback helped them to understand where their policy was falling short, and how they could refine it.
Nicholas-Williams’ story sadly echoes other recent debates. Last March, American singer Lizzo complained about TikTok removing videos of her wearing bikinis. And more recently, Australian comedian Celeste Barber created a buzz after posting a parody photograph of South African Victoria Secret’s model, Candice Swanepoel, to denounce fatphobia based censorship.
Overall, Instagram and Facebook policy update is a huge step forward in the struggle against body type and colour biased discriminations on social media. But there is still a lot of work to be done, as we are reminded by Nicholas-Williams. “Black, plus-size women continue to be censored in many ways; and white women STILL tried to hijack it and make it their campaign.” We can only hope that this new step will significantly enlarge the dialogue over inclusivity and diversity on social media platforms.
– Anaïs N’déko
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