LOS ANGELES, CA - MAY 07: Cara Delevingne attends the 2017 MTV Movie And TV Awards at The Shrine Auditorium on May 7, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images)
Cara Delevigne took to Instagram yesterday to post an image supporting reading — likely one she didn’t expect to garner anything but praise.
“One girl loved reading so much she forgot how to take a selfie,” the words read in cursive script, set over a dated black-and-white image of a girl with a pile of books.
Delevigne did not anticipate the backlash to the snarky wording of the image. Many users are clapping back at the notion that girls cannot both be well-read and take selfies and are calling the actress out for selfie-shaming her followers.
“Women are multifaceted people,” one user responded. “You can read AND take selfies.”
“I take selfies everyday and I read more books than any of my friends,” another shot back. “Your point is invalid.”
“Women can like selfies and reading, they aren’t mutually exclusive. maybe try a different meme that isn’t stacked with misogyny.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/BZWUeYeFBZL/
The 25-year-old actress did not apologize for posting the image, but she did acknowledge the backlash, editing her caption: “wow! The backlash on this picture is heavy!! I am not trying to say that I am better than anyone. It’s a nice reminder to me and to anyone. The power of getting lost in a book.”
That may be so, but as a celebrity with a sizable platform, pitting girls against each other and pushing the narrative that women are one-dimensional –whether intentional or not — does not seem to be the way to promote reading.
