Instagram’s censorship of female nipples is being challenged by a gender fluid model who uploaded a video of them playing basketball topless to protest the restrictive rules, which have been branded sexist.
Women’s nipples are banned on the photo-sharing site, unless they are in images depicting breastfeeding, but male topless images are allowed, and Rain Dove posted the basketball video to highlight the alleged hypocrisy of the rule.
Dove’s post depicts the model playing a game of basketball with their top off. The video also has text explaining Dove’s position, complete with an array of boob-related puns.
Warning: Video contains nudity.
“Dear Instagram, this isn’t sexual,” the video reads. “It’s just two humans playing basketball...a classic game of shirts vs skins.” The footage shows Dove playing with professional basketball player Crissa Ace, who also shared the video on her Instagram account.
“Sure, I may have my DD’s with my nipples shining in the sun, but before you delete my IG post let me DD-fend myself,” the video continues, before explaining how Instagram guidelines censor female nipples, and that because Dove’s “idenTITTY” is not “female” or “male” they are not violating the guidelines.
The video remains on Instagram so far, and has been watched more than 35,000 times.
The free the nipple movement is a long-running campaign to change Instagram’s female nipple rule, which is part of its larger nudity ban.
Dove is a gender capitalist, meaning someone who profits from both male and female expression. They model as a male or as a female, depending on the shoot.
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