The digital niqab

r/

Does anyone else not use a picture of your actual face/conceal your appearance on social media to avoid getting unwanted sexual messages? I’m actually getting really annoyed that on instagram, I can’t comment my opinion on anything without being called a bot (since my face isn’t showing) but if I DO show my face my messages and message requests are just vile. I really hate that I cannot seem to exist as a human female person without concealing my identity and the more I think about it the deeper the rabbit hole seems to go. The internet is the town square of the world, if this is how women have to exist then what does that say about the real world???

Comments

  1. brakeb Avatar

    all the time… you don’t have to put your real picture ever… Only place I have a pic of me is on linkedin… everything else is a meme or a color, or something else…

  2. BrightFleece Avatar

    Really, very uncool to use niqab as a metaphor for online anonymity. It’s short-sighted, Islamophobic, and kinda racist that it’s acceptable to just use culture’s traditional dress and customs as a byword for repression

    Not cool

    Edit: these comments have me shocked. It’s honestly insane to me that people here are equating wearing a headdress with an inability to advocate for or embody feminist values. Absolutely beyond the pale

  3. chiriyuki Avatar

    I mean we all know this is true. Its the first thing that’s criticised

    Death threats, rape threats, degrading dehumanising language

  4. sassyfrassroots Avatar

    Misuse of the word niqaab 💀 since its purpose is for religious reasons and you definitely look ignorant calling not using your face as your pfp (which most people do not do) that. Before you talk from your ass, I’m a former niqaabi.

  5. henicorina Avatar

    People wearing niqab aren’t doing it to avoid sexual harassment or conceal their identity, this is kind of a weird metaphor.

  6. WetwareDulachan Avatar

    The only piece of social media that has my face on it is a facebook account I made for people from my childhood who might remember I exist, and my LinkedIn.

    Nothing else is even remotely associated with my actual identity, the way it should be.

  7. Thorolhugil Avatar

    It’s not concealment to not plaster your face all over the internet. It’s common sense. The only people expected to shove their face into every profile picture or banner on social media are public figures.

    Why would you want random assholes to see your face and connect it to everywhere on the internet you wander? That opens you to doxxing.

  8. Danger_17 Avatar

    You need to find a new term for this.

  9. George3452 Avatar

    this has to be peak rage bait lol you have multiple body check pics on your profile with your face but have to wear a “digital niqab” to avoid sexual messages …. yea ok lol

  10. whereismydragon Avatar

    This post is racist.

  11. ratsrulehell Avatar

    Just on here. Made the mistake of setting an actual profile picture once for about half an hour. RIP inbox.

  12. audreyality Avatar

    I have an 8-bit looking version of me from 2003 as my avatar. I always have. I don’t get issues. 🤷‍♀️

  13. Lopsided-Crazy-365 Avatar

    Someone told me to put anything for a profile picture. They told me their PFP of a tattoo wasn’t even their tattoo. Lol. Somehow that made them more real than my dog playing in a place I traveled to.

  14. DancesWithWeirdos Avatar

    I’m finding I’m getting more respect for my opinions her on reddit with this stupid picture of bald JD Vance as my icon.