Curvy Blogger Angry That Her Bikini Photo Was Taken Down by Instagram: 'It's Blatant Fat-Phobia'

staff@people.com (Gabrielle Olya)
Updated
Curvy Blogger Angry That Her Bikini Photo Was Taken Down by Instagram: 'It's Blatant Fat-Phobia'

Curves Become Her blogger Aarti Olivia Dubey posted a photo of herself and two friends wearing bikinis on Instagram – and she was outraged when Instagram removed the photo for "violating community standards" after it was repeatedly flagged by other users.

"I believe the photo was flagged after getting reported by trolls and people who cannot handle the sight of three fat confident women in swimwear," Dubey, 34, tells PEOPLE. "It's blatant fat-phobia."

Dubey was initially sad when she found out that the photo was removed – but that soon changed to anger.

"It made me feel really bad at first, it felt like a rejection," she says. "But the unfair removal of the image despite it not violating guidelines also made me really angry."



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Instagram later issued an apology to Dubey, saying that removing the photo was a staff error.

"I do not accept Instagram's apology," she says. "Their reasoning of it having been a mistake by staff was just not believable, especially since my post was not the first in the plus-size community to be flagged."

@instagram THIS is the image that was reported by fat shamers and trolls, and YOU deleted it. HOW is this image being hateful, hurtful, abusive, trolling or obscene? Do 3 fat girls in swimsuits equate to gore, porn, racism, sexism? Or is it that people only want to see slim girls in swimsuits? IF this image is reported and deleted again, please trust that I WILL pursue this matter just like @rupikaur_ did when her image of lying in a period stain was removed. I am so disappointed and beyond livid right now. No Thanks to you and the people who had the gall to report this image, for making me feel so badly this Monday morning about my existence as a brown fat woman. My dear friends on social media, if you would like to help, please do so by reposting this image and sharing this post all over social media platforms, as many as you like. #bodypositive #celebratemysize #pizzasisters4lyfe #fuckfatphobia #losehatenotweight #nobodyshame #plussize #effyourbeautystandards #woc #intersectionalfeminism #fashionblogger #sizediversity #sgblogger #igsg #plussizesg #southasian #singaporean #girllove

A photo posted by Aarti Olivia Dubey (@curvesbecomeher) on May 22, 2016 at 4:17pm PDT



The Singapore-based blogger believes her experience is indicative of a larger societal problem with accepting women of diverse body types.

"It shows a preference to a certain type of plus-size bodies – the kinds that have no cellulite or have been airbrushed; the hourglass silhouette," she says. "So while perfection is being challenged and we are told to 'be ourselves,' it appears to come with conditions."