Petra Collins Instagram Selfie
Artist: Petra Collins
Year: 2013
Date of Action: October 11, 2013
Region: North America
Subject: Explicit Sexuality, Nudity
Medium: Online, Photography
Confronting Bodies: Instagram
Description of Artwork: A photograph posted to Instagram of 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 deleted and banned for posting what the site considered to be in violation of their appropriate code of conduct. Collins who had over 25,000 + followers subscribing to her account, posted a photo to Instagram of herself revealing an unshaven bikini line. 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) it appears her account was deleted not because it was more revealing or sexualized than the other photos 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
