Curvy Muslim Woman Calls Out Instagram for Disappearing Photo

Lauren Sharkey

Did you know that a selfie containing zero nudity can be removed by Instagram?

Instagram user Miski Muse, 21, was flummoxed recently when she discovered that the fully clothed selfie she had posted went missing from her account.

Miski Muse spoke out after her fully clothed photo was deleted by Instagram.
Miski Muse spoke out after her fully clothed photo was deleted by Instagram. (Photo: Miski Muse via Instagram)

Muse alleges that the picture, posted in November, was reported a number of times, apparently because Miski, who is Muslim, was simultaneously wearing a hijab and showing off her new jeans — and that Instagram eventually agreed with the “inappropriate” tag and removed the photo.

“I was talking to my friend and I remember telling her, ‘I found these wonderful jeans a few months ago. Let me show you the picture,'” Miski, who lives in Indianapolis, told Paper. “I was scrolling down Instagram and couldn’t find [it]. I had gotten a lot of feedback, both good and bad. It was a lot of people saying, ‘This isn’t appropriate for someone wearing the hijab.'”

I took this last November, in a moment of celebration for finally finding pants that fit both my waist and hips. This celebration was cut short when enough ppl reported it for @instagram to take it down. Usually I wouldn’t address this- but here’s the thing: I’m covered from head to toe, and yet my picture was seen as “inappropriate” enough to get deleted. My whole life I’ve struggled w/ body image issues & only in recent years have I come to appreciate my curvy body. Being a curvy Muslim woman hasn’t been a easy journey. I’ve been made aware my whole life that my body takes up too much space and evokes negativity from mean aunties and men alike. If my hips weren’t as wide, would my picture have ever been taken down? Probably not. This is the double standard in the Muslim community, as well as beyond the Muslim community. Curvy is tacitly seen as immodest– sexualized by default– so my photos as a curvy hijabi are consumed and seen as obscene. For centuries now, men have been policing women on how they should act, dress, speak, etc. and this incident is just another example. I don’t believe in comparing myself to other women, because they’re not my competition, but the harsh reality is that it’s easier to be a slimmer hijabi wearing this same outfit. I’m tired of being told I shouldn’t wear certain things because I’m not a size 4-6, a size range I haven’t fit in since elementary school. Growing up I never saw anyone that looked like me in the media and I definitely didn’t see a black, curvy, hijabi– and still haven’t to this day. Representation is important to me. Seeing women like Serena Williams, Ashley Graham, etc., feel beautiful in their skin is a inspiration to all in a world that tells women the opposite. I come from a community where ppl who look like me are not visible and are constantly shamed. This is my body & I’m not hiding it anymore to make others comfortable. Love yours ????

A post shared by ya curvy hijabi (@musegold) on Mar 5, 2017 at 10:18am PST

After feeling “shocked and confused that a woman who chose to celebrate her body wasn’t welcome,” Miski reposted the picture with a long caption detailing the discrimination she had faced.

“I’m covered from head to toe, and yet my picture was seen as ‘inappropriate’ enough to get deleted,” she wrote. “Being a curvy Muslim woman hasn’t been an easy journey. Curvy is tacitly seen as immodest — sexualized by default — so my photos as a curvy hijab are consumed and seen as obscene.”

She continued, “I come from a community where people who look like me are not visible and are constantly shamed. This is my body and I’m not hiding it anymore to make others comfortable.”

An Instagram spokesperson tells Yahoo Style that, while the company does not comment on individual accounts, Muse’s photo “meets all our guidelines, and would not be taken down during a typical review.”

The spokesperson adds, “If an image doesn’t violate our guidelines, it would not be taken down — it doesn’t matter how many times it was reported.”

Despite that thickening plot, Muse now tells Yahoo Style that after receiving considerable attention for her outspokenness, “I’ve received a lot of feedback from women thanking me for giving them a voice.”

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