These #AmberRoseChallenge Tweets Completely Miss the Point
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Amber Rose made a bold statement on Instagram Friday evening about policing women's bodies, by posting a controversial picture that was met with swift backlash.
In the now-deleted photo, Rose was seen without pants on, a violation of Instagram's rules about nudity, a policy that Rose previously challenged with her #FreetheNipple post last year.
Rose said the post was intended to make a statement about feminism, while also promoting the Amber Rose Slutwalk Festival, which aims to end the policing and stigma surrounding women's bodies.
Rose later complained about Instagram deleting her "fire ass feminist post."
Despite the takedown of the post by the social media platform, people had already grabbed screenshots, inspiring a run of similar images using #AmberRoseChallenge.
The post also inspired slut-shaming memes and comments on Instagram and Twitter.
One Instagram meme said Rose wasn't "empowering women," by comparing her to former first lady Michelle Obama.
Other Twitter users encouraged young girls to keep their clothes on and called Rose a "whore."
White British man and Daily Mail columnist, Piers Morgan even attempted to wade into the waters by attempting to tell Rose what she should do with her body. His meddling resulted in a heated Twitter beef between the two:
Morgan previously criticized Kim Kardashian West for posts with nudity and critiqued Beyoncé for having a political opinion.
Whether Rose's controversial post is meant to promote an event or Rose's personal brand, the assertion that nudity is not feminist or the "wrong way" to empower women misses the point entirely.
Women have the right to do whatever they want with their bodies, and society should stop policing the way they use them - which was likely Rose's point.
Rose caused controversy last year when she posted a #FreetheNipple photo on Instgram and Twitter to promote her annual Slutwalk Festival.
Her posts on the two social media platforms highlights the double standard Instagram holds for women's nipples. Men can be shirtless on Instagram but women cannot. Pop star Miley Cyrus and model Cara Delevigne have also posted photos with the hashtag #FreetheNipple to protest double standards and Chrissy Teigan has spoken out about it in the past.
"The fact that I have to censor myself from my photo at all when there are full-on porn being shot across Twitter and Instagram every day is crazy," Teigen told Mashable in 2015. "But women are beautiful and if it's a beautiful photo that isn't vulgar, then who cares?
