When it comes to Instagram and nudity, some serious hypocrisy emerges. Teenage girl gyrating her way around a selfie or ten, in a bikini? Fine. Artist Petra Collins with discernible muff, in a pair of knickers? Not fine. Reality TV starlet sharing a cleavage shot post-workout? Fine. How about the Polish supermodel Anja Rubik walking down the runway in a sheer shirt? Definitely not fine.
After 30-year-old Anja (whose appeared on the runway for everyone from Chanel to Victoria's Secret) posted a shot of herself walking in Anthony Vaccarello's Paris show last week, wearing a sheer shirt, via the account for 25 - her high fashion erotic magazine - 25 was kicked off Instagram. Again. And now she's pissed off.
'I think this whole thing is ridiculous' she says of the new brand of body-shaming,' she's said. 'It's like saying to the world that a woman's body is offensive. You can't show a nipple behind a sheer shirt?' It's not even the first time Anja has been kicked off; after her own personal account was shut down last year, the model thought she was being extra careful, showing breasts only through clothes - but Instagram still seized.[
As a result Anja has been at the helm of a 'Don't Fear The Nipple' campaign - similar to filmmaker Lina Esco's Free The Nipple clothing range which Cara has been sporting - since last year. 'It became our thing', Anja explains. 'We did t-shirts around it. It's all about empowering women and being comfortable with your body and sexuality.' It is of course a statement of fact that Anja may have more confidence to flash the flesh than those who are not super attenuated. But that's not what it's about, Anja argues (plus they do actually shoot 'real' models for 25, too.) 'When you look through Instagram, there are so many crude, vulgar images, which are apparently fine... But we show a natural woman naked and that's an issue? I don't understand.'
On the subject of any red carpet, nip slips (we're yet to find any from last night's Oscars) Anja is also passionate. ' 'Didn't people want Anne Hathaway to apologize [sic] because you could see the outline of her nipples in her Oscar dress? That's crazy. That's like apologising for having a leg. Honestly. She wasn't even showing the nipple. It was just peeking through the dress. Obviously there's a nipple in there! Why do we care? That's really awkward. We should be apologising to her. There was nothing vulgar about that dress.'
So what is the future for Instagram vs. tasteful nudity? Anja has true grit on the matter. As soon as 25 was kicked off Instagram, they immediately re-launched, with a sexy little visual riposte to the prudes that be. 'And if they kick us off again, we will launch another account' she asserts. 'They should wake up. We’re going backward—way backward. Instead of celebrating our bodies and moving forward and exploring our sensuality, we’re blocking all these things and making them shameful. And to the people who don’t like these images and report them on Instagram, just don’t follow us. It’s very simple. I don’t understand why they’re following us in the first place if they find our images so offensive. I’m not putting a gun to their heads.'
We've got to say, that's pretty straight forward advice. Find something offensive on Instagram? Don't follow! But we sure will be. 'Cos whilst we may not be freeing our own nipples - as it were - it's about time there was some consistency. Because really, is the sight of Anja's breast through some chiffon really any more offensive than Rihanna's be-thonged bumcheek?
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Pictures: Getty, @anja_rubik
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.