Story of a shoot - Fed up with censorship 1/2

Jun 17, 20243 min read

Censorship on Instagram: Between Protection and Hypocrisy

What do you think about censorship on Instagram? My point of view is rather contradictory. On the one hand, I understand the need to protect children from erotic or violent images on this public social network. The volume of content published every day requires robots to filter it, which is understandable. On the other hand, as an artist, I have spent hours drawing 'live nude' models, studying the human body in all its forms. In museums, in certain periods of art, nudity is seen as a work of the divine, a tribute to the natural beauty of the human body. Even in times of strict morality, artistic nudity has resisted. But on Instagram, it's a different story. Their censorship is not only unnatural, it's hypocritical. How do you explain that a suggestive image, barely veiled by a few centimetres of fabric in vulgar poses, goes through without a problem, while a delicate work of art showing a piece of female nipple is immediately deleted? And let's not talk about your account being relegated to the depths of "inappropriate content". The paradox also lies in the incredible audience for nude images - likes, comments - and the lack of reaction to more clothed images.

Prohibition: A Historical Parallel

This censorship resembles alcohol prohibition in the United States between 1920 and 1933. Initially, prohibition was intended to prevent violence and increase morality, but it had unexpected consequences. The closure of legal drinking establishments led to a proliferation of speakeasies. Alcohol production fell into the hands of criminals, including organisations such as Al Capone, who controlled the manufacture and distribution of contraband alcohol. This situation led not only to an increase in crime, but also to the consumption of adulterated alcohol, often dangerous to health.

Prohibition paradoxically enriched the underworld and escaped all government control, showing that strict prohibition of a behaviour can often have the opposite effect to that intended.

The Pornography Industry: A Paradox of Censorship

In fact, censorship on Instagram is not stopping the pornography industry from thriving. On the contrary, the industry is growing steadily. According to an ATSA report, the pornography industry generates around $97 billion in annual revenue worldwide. In the United States alone, it is worth around 12 billion dollars. Platforms such as Pornhub receive billions of visits every year, despite efforts to censor more mainstream social networks such as Instagram. Does Instagram censorship really prevent access to explicit content? No, it seems to be pushing users towards other platforms instead. From my point of view, the issue is more educational than prohibitive. In terms of education, I much prefer the artistic approach, which sublimates beauty even in more liberated erotic approaches, rather than developing a pseudo-censorship that seems to have the opposite effect. Develop the forbidden, and you'll develop the desire to get round it!

The creative constraint

However, since 2011, Instagram has been an incredible tool for me to connect. I've met models, artists, dancers, make-up artists, and each collaboration has been a wonderful adventure. But the "price to pay" for being on this platform sometimes seems exorbitant. Censoring the female body to such an extent has become unbearable. Besides, why exactly is a male nipple acceptable, when a female nipple isn't? It's deeply misogynistic! This puritanical censorship escapes me and I suffer it as a constraint. But like any constraint, it can become a source of creativity. You could even say that without constraint, no creativity is possible.

One day, with a model friend @erin_epll, I proposed a shoot to represent a world where nudity would be perfectly integrated into our society. The situations had to be related to everyday life: transport, the supermarket, the macdo, or a Covid stand! Here are a few images of the results of this exciting shoot, with a touch of humour and irony!