The American popstar Madonna recently posted a series of pictures in which she was seen wearing a lacy outfit, fishnet stockings, flashy shoes with her manicured nails. Instagram took down her post without informing her as the picture were a breach of its nudity policy. How? because a part of her nipple was visible.
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The singer did not get silenced as she called out the social media platform for its hypocrisy. While there are crores of pictures with men showing their bare body, even a little glimpse of her nipple could stay on the platform. A platform which is supposed to be a free space for everyone to share things has often come up with unfair rules when it comes to women's body. A little tease would still float but actual thing visible in the picture? that gets immediately deleted. It surprising how the Facebook, now Meta, has easily allowed for hate to spread on its platforms but they draw the line on female nudity.
"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."
Madonna didn't just call out the platform but also reposted her pictures. This time, she hid her nipple behind a little heart emoji. In the caption she wrote, "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 sexualised. The nipple that nourishes the baby!"
She also compare the female and male nipple and asked why can't a man's nipple be erotic. She also pointed out that a woman's behind is never censored anywhere and its completely opposite for men. The singer raising the right questions has given a food for thought, like many other people at different occasions, that a male and female body is still treated very differently. When it comes to a female body, mystery is admired. Doesn't that mean that the rules on nudity on social media are essentially catering to the male gaze? A gaze which like to see a woman tease what is inside her clothes but when she confidently flaunts it openly, suddenly everyone is uncomfortable.
Madonna Trolled For Revealing Pictures:
The singer's post garnered much praise from her followers and fans but some people were just not happy. Many users trolled her by calling her a grandma acting like a young woman. They pointed out how Madonna has photoshopped her pictures to look younger. How she is too old for pulling something of this sort. How her kids must be mortified. They even gave her advice to post her pictures on Only Fans or any other porn site if she is really that keen.
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One user wrote, "Sexy photos? Your time has passed!"
This is what the artist got in return for merely trying to present herself like she wants to on her own social media page. For starters, what has her age got to do with any of her pictures? Should we be more amazed to see how a 60 something woman is living her life on her own terms? Last checked, there is no such rule or diktat on how old should a woman be to feel good about herself.
The "be real" discourse on social media is often about attacking people for pretending to be someone different and not really about supporting them for who they are. Sure, if Madonna would have shown us her wrinkles we would not be appalled and she would still be the Queen of Pop for her fans. But she choses to hide them and shouldn't that be her call ? So many of us do not show our faces on social media without an appropriate filter and just because a world famous artist does the suddenly she is fake? If people choose to be vulnerable with their actual skin texture, its a brave and applaudable thing to do. At the same time, the choice to keep it hidden behind layers should also be respected. Who are we to decide what part of self people reveal to us ?
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