Pop star Madonna blasted social media platform Instagram for removing a series of racy photographs from her official page without any warning.
“I’m reposting photographs Instagram took down without warning or notification….. The reason they gave my management that does not handle my account was that a small portion of my nipple was exposed." Madonna wrote in a post. "It is still astounding to me that we live in a culture that allows every inch of a woman’s body to be shown except a nipple. As if that is the only part of a woman’s anatomy that could be sexualized. The nipple that nourishes the baby! . Can’t a mans nipple be experienced as erotic ??!!”
The risque photographs in which the Material Girl singer is seen wearing a thong, fishnet stockings and high heels were removed by the social media website a few days ago. To get around Instagram's nudity policy, Madonna re-shared the photographs with a heart emoji to partially censor her pictures.
Since the incident coincided with Thanksgiving, Madonna shared in her post that she is thankful to have managed to maintain her "sanity through four decades of censorship...sexism...ageism and misogyny."
The 63-year-old pop star has never shied away from bold outfits designed to subvert long held patriarchal notions the female body, its sensuality and sexuality as prescribed by the male gaze.
Even way back in 1990, Madonna caused quite the stir in her Blond Ambition tour. She had started performing her song ‘Express Yourself’ in a sharply cut pinstripe suit. She then revealed what she was wearing underneath that artfully androgynous outfit — the now-famous pink conical bra, designed by legendary couturier Jean Paul Gaultier.
In a more recent appearance, at the 2021 MTV Video Music Awards, Madonna wore a bondage-inspired full leather body suit. Back in 1992, in another collaboration with Gaultier, Madonna walked the runway in a bondage-inspired harness top that left her breasts fully exposed. This was a part of a fundraising gala to support the American Foundation for AIDS Research (now called amfAR).
