Being a woman online can be hard. You get abused on Twitter, trolled in the comments section of, well, everywhere, and strangers think it’s okay to say gross things about your appearance on Instagram. Sadly, not even the beloved haven of Snapchat is a safe place anymore: choosing the wrong filter can also bring on the wrath of the world wide web.
While the very unfortunate Bob Marley blackface filter drew criticism this week, a considerable section of the online community saved their outrage for a couple of less culturally loaded snaps. The new flower crown filter — brought on in celebration of Coachella — has quickly picked up the name the “hoe filter.” For some reason, wanting a cute shot of yourself in a headpiece (with the most sublime skin technology can offer) makes you a garbage human.
Y’all gonna over use that flower crown filter and turn it into the new hoe filter. Smh
— Gloseph (@BunkyJoseph) April 19, 2016
The backlash is just the most recent incarnation of the exhausted “basic bitch” joke. That is, women who partake in any kind of festival styling — flower crowns, fringe, anything Kendall Jenner wore this week — are automatically idiots. Oh, and by internet logic, being dumb means you’re also easy. Keeping up so far?
It’s so nice to see all these basic bitches finally get to alternate between the dog filter and flower crown filter on snapchat
— Sameme Memedrigal (@samburger666) April 21, 2016
As strange as it is to note, this isn’t the first Snapchat feature to trigger a wave of unwarranted and extremely gendered hate. The puppy filter has been controversial for some time. Lets just pause here to acknowledge that the sentence “the puppy filter has been controversial for some time” exists in time and space. Apparently cartoon dogs with their tongues out are symbols of Caligula-level sexual perversion. We’ll never look at Lady and the Tramp the same way again.
I’m not gonna #slutshame you, but at least try to not be a deniesit-winkyface slut who uses the puppy snapchat filter as a thirst trap.
— Trisden Forrester (@TrisdensForrest) April 19, 2016
What the two filters have in common — other than being popular with young women — is they’re flattering. In short, taking a picture of yourself where you look cute is officially considered a thirst trap.
This is hardly the first conversation about the way we police and what project onto young women online that the app has started. Earlier this year, YouTube star Zoella was trolled for posting a picture of herself in bed. To be clear, the 25-year-old was wearing her pyjamas and the shot included the text “goodnight” and “zzz”; but the glimpse of a pair of Calvin Klein briefs had the image deemed sexual, and endlessly discussed and critiqued across social media and tabloid press.
For now though, we’ll say this: if sending pictures of yourself as a dog to your friends is wrong, we don’t want to be right.
y’all can say that the flower crown is the ho filter on snapchat if you want, but it clears my skin right tf up, idc idc idc.
— Raven. (@RavenK_) April 21, 2016
Credits
Text Wendy Syfret
Image via Snapchat and Instagram