Facebook is under fire for blocking a photograph of a plus-size model.
The social network rejected an advert featuring model Tess Holliday wearing a bikini.
The image was posted by Australian feminist group Cherchez La Femme, which has reacted with fury after seeing its post denied. It’s sparked a huge debate on the page.
Facebook said the advert, which was created for an event designed to promote body positivity, “depicts a body…in an undesirable manner,” the BBC reports.
The social media site said that the event page wouldn’t be taken down – only the organisation’s post would be blocked.
Essentially, this means that the photograph of Holliday remains on the Cherchez La Femme event page, but wouldn’t be seen elsewhere for promotional use.
“Ads like these are not allowed since they make viewers feel bad about themselves,” Facebook’s Ads Team explained in a response.
The site went on to say that an alternative photo of somebody “running or riding a bike” might be more appropriate.
Facebook told the BBC that it was investigating. Its terms and conditions say that pictures used in advertising mustn’t “show excessive amounts of skin or cleavage”.
The event, held in Melbourne, Australia, is called “Feminism and Fat”. One of the producers, Jessamy Gleeson, spoke to the BBC about the matter.
They’re not policing women’s bodies when it comes to acceptable standards of beauty elsewhere.
I can see that they were attempting to try to tackle eating disorders – that makes sense – but at some point you have to consider that women of different weights exist on Facebook.
Holliday or her agent hadn’t given permission for the photo to be used but the feminist group had contacted her with a requested to do so.
Read more: Six things startup entrepreneurs wish they knew when they started their business
Disclaimer: Some pages on this site may include an affiliate link. This does not effect our editorial in any way.
