Madonna on Instagram: “Giving thanks that I have managed to maintain my sanity through four decades of censorship… sexism…ageism and misogyny.”
Madonna made headlines a couple of days ago when she posted a batch of sexy photos to her Instagram. Posing in bed in a pair of fishnet stockings, in some of the photos, her breasts and a nipple were visible. The social media platform removed the posting, pointing to the explicitness of some of the imagery as its reason.
Madonna was furious. She reposted the images yesterday, with her nipples covered.
“I’m reposting photographs Instagram took down without warning or notification,” Madonna wrote. “The reason they gave my management that does not handle my account was that a small portion of my nipple was exposed. It is still astounding to me that we live in a culture that allows every inch of a woman’s body to be shown except a nipple. As if that is the only part of a woman’s anatomy that could be sexualized. The nipple that nourishes the baby!”
“Can’t a man’s nipple be experienced as erotic ??!! And what about a woman’s ass which is never censored anywhere. Giving thanks that I have managed to maintain my sanity through four decades of censorship…… sexism……ageism and misogyny. Perfectly timed with the lies we have been raised to believe about the pilgrims peacefully breaking bread with the Native American Indians when they landed on Plymouth Rock! God bless America.”
Many of her fans praised her for speaking out on the double standard by which men’s nipples are regarded as OK to show, but women’s nipples are not. Others implored the 63 singer to age with dignity, saying the photos were not artistic but tacky.
A spokesperson for Meta, Instagram’s parent company, told CNN in a statement that photos which breach its rules are removed “whenever we find it, no matter who posts it. While we understand not everyone will always agree with where we draw the line, our rules are designed to help keep everyone of all ages safe on our apps, while giving space for as much expression as possible.”