WE ARE SHE 2021 CAMPAIGN & PETITION TO INSTAGRAM
‘I made art to empower women; to highlight nudity as natural - not sexual - and I got punished.’
After a period of 28 days where Founder & CEO of WE ARE SHE and photography artist, Jen ‘1N’ Fairchild, released 45 images from her nude in nature art series on Instagram - ‘We’ve All Been Here Before’ — where she was met with an endless stream of roadblocks, including: posts being flagged numerous times for ‘violations’, posts permanently removed for ‘going against community guidelines on nudity and sexual content’, Instagram denying every promotion she tried to run, and finally, Instagram flagging her account and threatening to delete it permanently, she became enraged at the injustice; seeing other posts - hyper-sexualized and full of degradation - widely available & allowed to stand, while hers, created with nothing but the purest intentions to celebrate the female form, removed.
Finally able to see the BLINDING double standard that existed not only within the platform but throughout society at largE, SHE EXPLODED INTO ACTION—
ANGER IS THE CATALYST,
LOVE IS THE DESTINATION.
We are calling on Instagram to immediately cease the harmful practice of censoring female bodies within the art space.
WHY I WROTE THIS PETITION
01.
This is Finley (aka ‘Finstagram’) and I playing Operation (graciously, for the hundredth time).
She just celebrated her 4th birthday on February 24th — the day I launched this campaign & petition in her honor.
This little human is my cousin’s daughter and is so precious to me that I could not *possibly* love her any more if she were my own.
02.
Our first post of the campaign — featuring a natural nude female in a natural pose, celebrating her body and power through art — was taken down within 24 hours for ‘violating community guidelines.’
As this petition is quite literally an act of protest, Instagram is failing to adhere to its own (albeit skewed) guidelines.
03.
This account was sent to me by another cousin of mine. From what I can tell, it is a collaborative account that is allowed to post freely and in excess.
04.
Images made through WE ARE SHE that empowered women to express their nudity in a safe & respectful environment — in a way they chose.
All images voluntarily shared with explicit consent from our beautiful participants.
Feb 26th, while driving back to CA after wrapping up the 3rd installation of my ‘Nude in Nature’ art series in UT, I was notified that our very first post for our campaign had been reported, and removed.
When I read that, something deep within me, broke, and I cried like I have never cried before.
Through this incredible wave of emotion that caused unbearable pain & weight on my heart — and choking on sobs so intense that I could barely breathe —
I kept thinking about Finley.
I kept thinking about how — even though I felt like I was *actually* going insane with an anger and sadness so acute I could easily jerk the steering wheel and end it all — that I could not, that I *would* not, because if I died, the world would not be a better place for her.
I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt, that I *MUST* live, and that I *MUST* do absolutely everything, plausible & possible — within my power —to honor her and
to ensure this world she lives in not only celebrates and accepts her, but *RESPECTS HER BODY AND HER POWER*.
In my eyes, when it’s *MORE* likely that our real and adopted daughters will encounter hyper-sexualized images on social media— OVER images of basic female anatomy from ARTISTS who CELEBRATE NUDE BODIES in NATURAL positions, and EMPOWER women to EXPRESS THEMSELVES in a way that THEY CHOOSE—
