Face it. Before you read further about what I think about Instagram models, I want you to face it. You might be here because of some SEO based skullduggery. But, if you’ve been googling ‘Instagram Models’, chances are that you’ve already either:
- Gone through your existing feed of models and want new ones to ogle-stalk-potentially date
- Are an Instagram Model yourself, wanting to know what the world thinks of you (as if you’re not getting enough attention)
- Are on the path to becoming this entity
- Are actually socially conscious enough to read opinion pieces about Instagram, its denizens and whatnot
- Feel either lust/love/loathing or some other strong emotion towards the women of Insta
Am I right or am I right? Oh, please: Keyboard warriors, any attempt you make right now is only going to be a pathetic attempt to sound edgy, but you do you. And you know why you’re here.
Who are these Insta models?
Many, many articles online will tell you that there are models who have an Instagram account, and then there are Instagram models. Different things, and I tend to agree.
See most real-life models, artists, businesses and the like use Instagram to enhance their reach, interact with their fan-base, and just generally keep a particular brand image going on their social media front. If you’re an A-list celebrity, then your account is just an extension of the brand that is you. Everyone knows that this is fake – because you come with the disclaimer of fame.
But Insta models are different. Their fame lies solely in the realm of that particular account. Their ultimate offering to the world? Their body, of course!
You know you’ve spotted an Instagram model if you take a cursory glance at her social media activity. You shall see the following exhibits:
- Copious amounts of selfies, pouts, filters and hashtags. The focus of their Instagram account is themselves. Instagram stories every day with tons of highlights.
- A high followership, but take a look at who they follow? Chances are that this number will be dramatically low.
- Occasionally, a post on how hard it is being an Instagram model, the hate they receive online, and how they are just a living example of downtrodden angels on earth trying to earn a living ‘doing their thing’.
- Carefully curated imagery that sells sex appeal in picture-perfect surroundings. No, it’s not the sex appeal of the Uma Thurman kind – this is more in-your-face with ample photoshopping skills, angular adjustment and gaudiness in good measures.
- Bios contain: Model/Entertainer/Lifestyle Blogger/Fitness Freak/Public Figure/Cosplayer (blah blah) and will ALWAYS include a ‘Business Partnerships/Promotions’ link. The needier ones will hand out their Patreon for their ever growing, needy and increasingly anonymous fanbase.
- Instagram models eke out a parasitic existence that’s dependent on three things: a supply of horny, impulsive and materially-ready-to-provide males, other Instagram models like themselves and low-key photographers with a following of their own. The latter two will be tagged in their stories and their posts to keep the circle-jerk going.
Cautious Feminism
Being cautious is trendy nowadays, and that applies even more when trying to form an opinion of Instagram models. I’m not a fan of baseless hate, slut-shaming and using words that are only intended to wound through mirth.
However, I am a fan of strong opinions and I have quite a few of them when it comes to Instagram models. No cautious feminism is going to cut it here because this is my domain.
The problem with the more salesy, spa-type of feminism is that they encourage women to do exactly the same thing that patriarchal norms demand of them. Except, they tell you to feel good, liberated and empowered while you’re at it.
#empowered
Most Insta models fall into this category of subhuman that want to take absolutely no criticism for all the publicity they attract, and they will even cheekily defend their positions by saying ‘you don’t know where I come from’.
Alright, you shoddy excuse for a woman. I don’t know where you come from. So, let’s deconstruct, shall we?
There are many arguments as to why we shouldn’t have a problem with Instagram models.
- After all, aren’t they brilliant marketers who’re making a quick buck using their ingenuity?
- Aren’t they, and their fans aware that this is all fake?
- Isn’t it hard enough for a woman trying to make a living? Why should we add to the hate?
- In all the fakeness, isn’t there a real person with feelings to be found?
- Instagram is a medium where such stuff is propagated anyway, so why blame them only?
- Should we encourage a toxic culture where assumptions about women are made online, without really understanding their back story etc.?
I’m sure there are more. Keep em coming I say. Because I have responses.
- Instagram is a highly recent phenomenon – it captured the internet pretty quickly. So, saying that is the only way to make a quick buck is kind of passé.
- No one is actually judging you for selling your body. Prostitution of any kind shouldn’t be abhorred if it’s a matter of choice. But the problem lies in the the hubris that somehow this is a noble endeavor, and you shouldn’t have to get your share of certain responses for it online.
- Guess what? Public figures get insulted and are a subject of controversy all the time. They recognize the risks that come with their job. If it’s all about self-expression, why even bother putting it online? You can do a photoshoot where the photos remain in your own memory card. But nuuuuuu – you want to put it online, and you also want to sound self-righteous while doing it. Bitch please.
- Big brands (apart from individuals) are also responsible for what they put online. If certain communities feel targeted, alienated – or even remotely insulted, they have a right to raise those issues with the brand. Brands too, issue apologies and ‘take back’ posts even if ‘the culture’ is such where they have to maintain brand image. Are you ready to do that? Cause you’re already halfway there with the image shit.
- Complaining about misogyny in this profession is the biggest hypocrisy ever. It’s not even a matter of ‘what did you expect?’ but more of ‘what am I selling?’ Are you selling sex appeal? Your images focus on your body parts? Then random, insecure men (your target audience *ahem*) who turn up in your DMs and your comments – isn’t that a almost direct sales conversion?
Credits: Antonio Sortino, Behance
Yes, you’re a real person. Which is exactly why you need to think about what you put online. We need a better society, sure. Are you contributing to this better society? Do you think adding to a juvenile delinquent’s spank bank, or by putting up more NSFW content that serves as a gateway to porn-based addiction is helping? Do those energy drinks, hip injections and frankly drab clothing help anybody?
Many of them unsurprisingly have no other talents. Thinking cogently is one of those lost legacies. But those who can stitch more than two words together (yes, I’m looking at you Ivy League bitches who want to preach some liberal feminism) will come to their defense and claim that they should be taking pride in the misappropriation of feminist roles.
They will posit that yes, riding a dick every night should make you feel special. Having unreal amounts of fat injected in the ‘right’ places gives you some sort of independence. Oh, and having someone buy you favors, food and fortune is somehow living the feminist dream. What a load of bullshit!
If you’d have bothered putting that in your artificial, digital front of an account, perhaps I would have. But all your credibility has been shot to shit already because even if you wanted to say something meaningful, you’d do it while posing next to a brand. Or you’d whine about how you ‘don’t give a fuck about what others think’.
The sad yet loathsome part of it all is – yes, you do give a fuck. And I’m about to add salt to those wounds you’ve been tending to.