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In the latest of several recent controversies surrounding Instagram, Samm Newman, a 19-year-old woman from Ohio, says her account was deleted.

Because, she is convinced, she posted selfies of herself in her bra and underwear, which plenty of people do … but Samm happens to be a Size 24.

For Newman, Instagram had become a safe haven, an online environment in which to be proud of her fuller figure and find other women like her.

Posting photos to Instagram and seeing other girls displaying similar ones empowered her, and that support helped her be less ashamed of her size.

Considering that she spent her high school years bullied and depressed to the point of self-harm, this was a huge deal … and then it came crashing down.

That safe space suddenly disappeared without explanation, and Samm could only assume her Instagram was targeted because of her Size 24 body.

“My Instagram, this was my safe place because when I was there, I could share anything,” Samm Newman lamented. “Fat is not a bad word.”

 

“How confident can you be if you keep censoring yourself because people don’t want to look at you? I didn’t find [the underwear] or the bra at all inappropriate.”

“They covered me entirely and I’ve seen pictures like that all over Instagram.”

Since Instagram frequently allows much more revealing shots of skinnier girls (see ALL Kendall and Kylie Jenner photos), she clearly has a point.

The social network couldn’t ignore it, either. Her account has been restored.

“When our team processes reports from other members of the Instagram community, we occasionally make a mistake,” Instagram said in an apology.

“In this case, we wrongly removed content and worked to rectify the error as soon as we were notified. We apologize for any inconvenience.”

So basically, people complained about Samm’s page and the company reacted, then realized the error of its ways. For Samm, this has been educational.

I’m going to make a difference in the world, regardless of whether Instagram cooperates or not,” she says, adding that she’s determined to make a difference.

Haters will always hate, but we hope this serves as a lesson. Kim Kardashian longs for the #SkinnyDays, but the non-discriminatory, non-bullying days are best of all.