instagram censorship
text by KARLEY SCIORTINO
The first image ever censored from my Instagram account was of a painting by the famous French Realist, Gustave Courbet. Titled, Le Sommeil (Sleep), 1866, it depicts two nude women sleeping in a peaceful embrace. After its removal, I got one of those “you breached the terms of service” e-mails, which annoyingly never specify which image was deleted, and inevitably leave you scrolling through your timeline, trying to pinpoint the missing link. It took me quite a while to realize that Le Sommeil was the culprit, as I never expected that a painting, let alone a respected piece of art, could be deemed inappropriate viewing, even by the most puritanical of judges. But apparently, we’ve achieved such a level of unsophistication that there’s no longer a distinction between art and porn — all nudity is pornography, at least according to social media sites,…