Photo: Via @meghantonjes.Ain't nothin' wrong with a butt selfie. At least, that's what Meghan Tonjes thought when she posted one to Instagram with the caption "booty appreciation #honormycurves #effyourbeautystandards."
But, Instagram disagreed and removed the photo, deeming it "pornographic." Tonjes knew that plenty of other women had gotten on the #belfie bandwagon — the photos come before the hashtag, after all — and the only thing that separated hers from the others is that she's overweight.
Having no way to contest the decision, the video blogger took to YouTube to do what she does best. "I want you to think of how many big girls you see...wearing bathing suits, lingerie, shorts, dresses, tight-fitting clothing, who aren't openly mocked," she told her viewers. "And, now you have the answer as to why a lot of girls who look like me — and by a lot, I mean not very many — post pictures of themselves showing their thighs or their stomach or parts that other women and other people show proudly and are never questioned on because that's what we're used to seeing and we're comfortable with that."
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Instagram has since apologized, restoring the photo to her account, and offering an Insta-apology that she posted to her feed. "We try hard to find a good balance between allowing people to express themselves creatively and keeping Instagram a fun and safe place. Our guidelines put limitations on nudity and mature content, but we recognize that we don't always get it right. In this case, we made a mistake and have since restored the content."
It's good to see the site can admit when it's wrong, because Tonjes does have a message that needs to be spread...and Instagram'd. (Mashable)
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