The Controversial Instagram Hashtag Ban That Has Everyone Talking

In its latest move to regulate "inappropriate" content on Instagram, the popular social media app no longer allows users [1] to search the hashtag #curvy. When you enter the term on the site [2], all that appears is an error message stating "sorry, this page isn't available."

An Instagram spokesperson told BuzzFeed [3] that the hashtag was not searchable because "it was being used to share images and videos that violated Instagram's community guidelines around nudity." But unlike other banned terms like #vagina or #sex, the term curvy goes beyond a sexual connotation. For most women, the word is used to celebrate body positivity [4], and many of the industry's top plus-size models embrace the term as a way to promote confidence for women of all body types.

While #curvy has lost its standing, related terms like #skinny and #thin remain (although both of these come with a content advisory) as well as more offensive search terms like #fatty.

This is just the latest controversy for the social platform, which has been criticized for censoring women's nipples and menstrual blood [5] in the past. And as the #freethenipple [6] movement has gained momentum, we'd like to officially nominate #embracecurvy as the next hashtag to take off. Read on for a look at a few of the models who convince us that curves are in, no matter what hashtag you decide to use.

Marquita Pring

Sabina Karlsson

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