Dani

NAME: Dani
PLATFORM & USERNAME: Instagram @remainsofd
CENSORSHIP: Content & shadow ban

What reason was given for your ban?

Nudity, sexual content, explicit sexual acts, inappropriate content.

Why do you think your post(s) was censored?

I believe my content was targeted because of portraying mostly queer bodies.

I have never posted explicit nudity or sexual acts, but I have had my content removed for partial nudity, hints of nipples, hints of genital shapes through thongs, and even for pictures of drag queens wearing fake silicon breasts. My account has been shadow banned for over 3 years now, and this is probably due to the content of queer people partying, kissing and expressing themselves freely.

Were you able to appeal and what was the response?

I appealed to Instagram several times but I’ve had no reply. I also know that they don’t admit to having shadow bans.

What effect has your experience of censorship had on you?

I have felt my work is not worthy of exposure and attention, that it is somehow relegated to the erotic or illicit. I have felt hopeless regarding making it as an artist, after being censored in the digital world.

What’s one thing you want people to know about this topic?

While so much of queer culture is sexual and beautifully sex-positive, queer bodies exist beyond being sexuality and should be celebrated and uplifted instead of censored, hidden and persecuted.