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Model Erin O’Connor has shared her anger after Instagram allegedly removed a photograph showing her at eight and a half months pregnant, which the star shared to mark Mother’s Day.
The fashion industry legend posted the black and white shot, which was taken by photographer Nick Knight in 2014, on her social media account earlier this month, to celebrate “all those who continue to nurture, support, love & protect children (close to home & across the world) in every way, shape & form”. The photo has since been reinstated on the platform, albeit with a warning that the post “contains content that some people may find upsetting”.
The image shows a naked O’Connor with one hand resting on her pregnant belly, and was captured while she was expecting her first child, Albert.
O’Connor, 48, said that she had received a message from Meta, Instagram’s parent company, telling her that the photo had been removed for breaching the platform’s nudity guidelines.
The message also reportedly included a reference to “freedom of expression”, stating: “We want you to share freely with others. We only remove things or restrict people to keep the community respectful and safe.”
O’Connor said Mother’s Day was a time to celebrate women’s bodies ‘in their most natural state’ (Getty Images for Veuve Clicquot)
The Independent has contacted Meta for further comment.
O’Connor said that she had complained to the company, claiming that the incident was an example of “inconceivable” double standards, as women are “hypersexualised on a daily basis”.
“It feels inconceivable that a heavily pregnant naked woman could be perceived as offensive, when she stands in her full power, her body at its most extraordinary, embodying its innate ability to grow, birth and sustain new life,” she told an audience at the National Gallery on Friday.
“It’s such a shame that that would be offensive in the 21st century, and yet in galleries everywhere you have these very sensual and erotic images of women,” she added.
O’Connor, who rose to fame in the Nineties, said it was “ironic” that on Mother’s Day, “the one day our bodies should be honoured in their most natural state”, she had been “scrutinised and judged”.
After the photo was reinstated, O’Connor told The Guardian that she was “incredibly grateful that Meta took the time to review and ultimately restore such a meaningful and important image. It means so much to have this moment of strength, vulnerability and celebration of motherhood, recognised and respected”.