Violence, aggressive language, hate groups and women’s nipples. These things violate community standards of international social media platforms. As a woman, I find it bizarre that parts of my body can fall under the same category as hate speech.

The censorship guidelines specific to women’s bodies seem to imply that nipples on a woman exist for the sexual arousal of the gazer. And are therefore inappropriate for the public domain. Anyone engaged in online communities knows that some exceptions are made; for brands, celebrities, those who can bring in a profit.

When the commodification of women’s bodies is favoured over individual agency we are left with the erasure of women-led stories. When our authorship is silenced we are reduced to an archetype. In The Allegory of the Cave, by Plato people experience the world only via shadows of objects cast on the wall. They are limited to seeing false images of reality.

Online censorship clarifies the societal confusion between empowerment and objectification of women and our bodies. Even in this new form of media, inconsistent censorship creates false realities where women’s relevance exists only in relation to the patriarchal Male Gaze.