A recent announcement that Instagram has “begun reducing the spread of posts that are inappropriate but do not go against Instagram’s Community Guidelines” left me wondering when censorship on Instagram would really start to impact full bust and/or lingerie bloggers. In case you missed the announcement, here’s what you need to know.

“If a post is sexually suggestive, but doesn’t depict a sex act or nudity, it could still get demoted… Specifically, Instagram says, “this type of content may not appear for the broader community in Explore or hashtag pages,” which could severely hurt the ability of creators to gain new followers.” (Source: TechCrunch)

On Saturday morning, I posted a picture that I took on break at work. This picture received a number of likes from people who do not already follow me. The following is an example of a post that does not trigger Instagram’s algorithm. (I should be fine long as nobody tells Mark Zuckerberg that motor oil is technically a lubricant!)

https://www.instagram.com/p/BwegX4UgWbV/

On Saturday afternoon, I posted an Agashi gown but the only likes on that post were from my existing followers. That’s a telltale sign of a shadowban. If you’re wondering what that means, “shadowbanning is the act of blocking a user’s content on social media sites, in such a way that the user doesn’t know it’s happening.” (Source: HubSpot)

On Sunday, I posted a Comexim bra. Unfortunately, that was also shadowbanned even though the model was not doing anything “sexually suggestive.” If you think that a mannequin would solve this problem, know that seeing a bra on a mannequin doesn’t represent reality because mannequins are not subject to gravity like breasts are.

I spent some time on social media looking for others in the lingerie sphere who are being shadowbanned at this time and I definitely found them. What we do is not inappropriate. We are posting valuable information that many people are unaware of and we certainly should not be punished for our willingness to provide a resource.

Instagram’s own examples of “non-recommendable content,” shown earlier in this blog post, demonstrate a double standard. How is a busty woman sitting around and minding her own business in a bra comparable to a man grabbing his crotch? At this point, I’m pretty much convinced that Mark Zuckerberg is afraid of breasts.

On a personal note, I started Busty Style because I had a difficult time navigating significant changes to my figure in my mid-20s. If my blog has ever helped you figure something out, please consider sending a link to your friends. To read more about how censorship has affected my blog, check out my post about Censorship on Facebook.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BoK_rV8BQ2B/