Nude blogger thanks Instagram for suspending her account and proving her point about censorship
A nude Instagram blogger whose account was suspended and subsequently reinstated has posted a message for "social media giants" and their nudity guidelines.
Body positive blogger Jessa O'Brien—creator of The Nude Blogger Instagram account—had her account suspended three weeks ago after someone reported her profile. After Instagram restored her account, O'Brien posted a fiery response to the people who erroneously reported her for violating Instagram's nudity guidelines.
In early August, O'Brien created a new account and posted a message to followers who may have been confused by her sudden absence from the platform.
"Some of you may have been following my previous account @thenudeblogger, which was abruptly, and without any notice whatsoever, deactivated Monday night, 31 July. My guess, it's been reported. So apologies I've been missing for a bit!" wrote O'Brien.
In a follow-up post on the newly created account, O'Brien explained her reasons for posting nude photos.
"I post nude photos, not for superficial reasons, nor to be glorified or sexualised, but with the hopes of normalising nudity and promoting body positivity and acceptance," wrote the blogger.
According to Instagram's community rules, nudity isn't allowed on the social network. Photos and videos that include "sexual intercourse, genitals, and close-ups of fully-nude buttocks" aren't allowed on Instagram, according to the guidelines.
But, "some photos of female nipples" are banned on the site, with the exception of photos of breastfeeding and mastectomy scarring.
A quick look at the Nude Blogger's reactivated account will show you that she does indeed post "nude" photos, but they could be considered within the guidelines stipulated by Instagram. The vast majority of her posts feature distance shots of O'Brien from behind. Instagram did not immediately respond to Mashable's request for comment.
Since the restoration of her original account, the Nude Blogger has posted a thank you post for those who supported her in her quest to have her profile activated. She also criticised Instagram's "blurred" guidelines.
"Since the deactivation of this account, I have embarked on a tireless crusade against the social media giants to raise awareness about body positivity and expose the contradictory nature of Instagram's blurred guidelines that only exacerbate appalling double standards," wrote O'Brien.
"The deactivation of my account actually proved to be one of the best things to happen for my message about body-positivity," she continued.
She added that the reactivation of her account was "a win for body-positivity and a win against Instagram✊🏽."
She also had a message for Instagram and whoever reported her account to the platform.
"You've just helped to show the world that body-positivity and non-sexual nudity are ok," she wrote.
"So yes, thank you too Instagram…it's been good✌🏼And as I always say, LET'S START A DAMN REVOLUTION! ✊🏽✊🏽✊🏽" O'Brien continued.
Topics Instagram Social Media
Rachel Thompson is the Features Editor at Mashable. Rachel's second non-fiction book The Love Fix: Reclaiming Intimacy in a Disconnected World is out now, published by Penguin Random House in Jan. 2025. The Love Fix explores why dating feels so hard right now, why we experience difficult emotions in the realm of love, and how we can change our dating culture for the better.
A leading sex and dating writer in the UK, Rachel has written for GQ, The Guardian, The Sunday Times Style, The Telegraph, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, Stylist, ELLE, The i Paper, Refinery29, and many more.
Rachel's first book Rough: How Violence Has Found Its Way Into the Bedroom And What We Can Do About It, a non-fiction investigation into sexual violence was published by Penguin Random House in 2021.
