Justice Potter Stewart concisely summed up obscenity with the famous line, "I’ll know it when I see it." That standard may be good enough for the United States Supreme Court, but Instagram's definition of obscenity is a considerably more flimsy.
For a site that encourages artistic expression, it’s infamous for its strict "no nudity policy," despite being perfectly fine with near-nekkid photos or photos depicting questionable acts. Instagram’s hypocrisy was challenged yesterday by Scout Willis, daughter of Bruce Willis and Demi Moore, who engaged in a form of visual protest that I think we can all agree is patriotic and praiseworthy.
Scout's own Instagram account was deactivated when she posted a photo of a sweatshirt with two topless women on it. Incensed that she couldn't recover the rest of her old photos, and angry at Instagram's sliding standards of decency, she protested the service by wandering topless in New York City, as that is legal in Gotham and not on Instagram.
As the Free Beacon is for the children, you can either check out the Daily Mail’s censored photos or go directly to Scout’s Twitter page.
Scout’s first amendment crusade against Instagram is not another instance of celebrity spawn pawning for attention. Scout had a larger purpose.
@ALiberaltarian this is allowed on ig, He has 2.5 million followers. But breast feeding gets you kicked off pic.twitter.com/zkMNqAFQT5
— Scout LaRue Willis (@Scout_Willis) May 29, 2014
She's no stranger to challenging social mores. Yes, that's a see-through shirt, and yes, she decided to not wear a bra at a public event.
Her sense of fashion is ... interesting.
Most importantly, Scout's walkabout has rallied her supporters to the cause of nudity. Among them:
I think @Scout_Willis is both right and brave, what do you think? http://t.co/Mn4w6jqlTa — genevieve morton (@genevievemorton) May 28, 2014
Who would want to disagree with Genevieve Morton?