Petra Collins Instagram Selfie
Artist: Petra Collins
Year: 2013
Date of Action: October 11, 2013
Region: North America
Location: Online
Subject: Explicit Sexuality, Nudity
Medium: Internet, Photography
Confronting Bodies: Instagram
Description of Artwork: A photograph posted to Instagram revealing the artist's unshaven bikini line.
The Incident: Petra Collins, a 20 yr-old artist based in Toronto who has had numerous solo shows, and has worked with the likes of American Apparel, Vogue, and Urban Outfitters had her Instagram account banned and deleted for posting what the site considered to be in violation of their code of conduct. Collins posted a photo to Instagram of herself revealing an unshaven bikini line to the 25k + followers who were subscribing to her account at the time. While Instagram’s guidelines state that they have no tolerance for “violent, nude, partially nude, discriminatory, unlawful, infringing, hateful, pornographic or sexually suggestive photos or other content via the Service,” after sifting through some of the 5,883,628 (the number of images with the #bikini at the time of Collins’ account deletion) other Instagram photos, it appears her account was deleted not because it was more revealing or sexualized than the other images posted on Instagram but rather, a more natural, taboo version of the female form.
Results of Incident: Despite a Change.org petition to get Collins' Instagram account back and running, Instagram has not lifted the ban on her ability to interact with the site. http://www.change.org/petitions/instagram-get-petra-collins-instagram-back
