Vile 'Project Harpoon' Facebook And Instagram Pages No Longer Exist - And Good Riddance We Say

Vile 'Project Harpoon' Facebook And Instagram Pages No Longer Exist
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Decent human beings, rejoice! Project Harpoon's Facebook and Instagram pages appear to have been removed following widespread online backlash led by plus-size model Tess Holliday.

The project, which has been accused on fat-shaming, took images of women (and a few men) without permission and digitally-altered them to look thinner.

But now Project Harpoon's Facebook and Instagram pages are no more.

Instagram confirmed that Project Harpoon's account was disabled for violating their bullying policy. The account was removed after The Huffington Post UK brought it to their attention.

HuffPost UK Lifestyle have contacted Facebook for comment, but fingers crossed it is on its way out for good.

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Project Harpoon's now-defunct Facebook page

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Project Harpoon's now-defunct Instagram page

Holliday is a well-known advocate of body confidence - just check out #effyourbeautystandards - so she was understandably incensed when images of her were stolen and Photoshopped to make her thinner.

"This kind of hit piece is exactly why I started #effyourbeautystandards. I am asking my followers to boycott this [page] and any others like it. Loving yourself is the most powerful message we all need to stand behind."

Unfortunately, Project Harpoon isn't the only group using Photoshop to fat-shame women.

It's part of a wider trend called #ThinnerBeauty, where people digitally edit images of others, without their permission, in order to make them look thinner.

They then post the two images side by side onto social media sites along with the hashtag.

On the now-defunct Facebook page, Project Harpoon claims that #ThinnerBeauty is about ending skinny-shaming, rather than fat-shaming.

"In current societal fashion, a recent trending surge of 'pro-obesity' and 'fat acceptance' have paved the way for many people to renounce exercise and personal healthcare in general," the account's description reads.

"This page aims to only show that being skinny is okay as well. Skinny-shaming is not okay."

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One of Project Harpoon's Photoshopped images (screengrabbed before the pages were deleted)

But Tess Holliday isn't convinced that Project Harpoon has innocent motives, and she's not the only one.

Rivkie Baum, editor of plus-size magazine SLiNK, says she finds the #ThinnerBeauty trend "absolutely horrendous".

"Women's bodies are continuously dissected by the media, but this takes it to a whole new level and violates their bodies in a whole different way," she tells HuffPost UK Lifestyle.

"For some reason we still believe women's bodies especially are public property and that needs to stop.

"I also think it is high time that social media sites take responsibility for the content they allow, as something like this doesn't reinforce health but can in fact enforce the idea of chasing thinness whatever the cost."

Meet Our Body Image Heroes
Adele(01 of17)
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Adele says she tries not to worry about her body image and doesn't want to be a "skinny minnie." "The first thing to do is be happy with yourself and appreciate your body -- only then should you try to change things about yourself." (credit:Facebook)
Lady Gaga(02 of17)
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After the media focused on her alleged weight gain in September 2012, Gaga hit back at critics by baring her body in photographs, sharing her struggles with an eating disorder, and inviting her fans to join her in a "body revolution." (credit:Facebook)
Christina Aguilera(03 of17)
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"I am always in support of someone who is willing and comfortable in their own skin enough to embrace it," the singer said in a recent interview. (credit:Facebook)
Margaret Cho(04 of17)
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In a powerful 2012 piece for Jezebel, the comedian responded to people who criticized her appearance:
I grew up hard and am still hard and I don't care. I did not choose this face or this body and I have learned to live with it and love it and celebrate it and adorn it with tremendous drawings from the greatest artists in the world and I feel good and powerful like a nation that has never been free and now after many hard won victories is finally fucking free. I am beautiful and I am finally fucking free.
(credit:Getty)
Gina Rodriguez(05 of17)
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The Golden-Globe winner told HuffPost Live how her father shaped her perspective on beauty:
Beauty was very much on my mind. I had a father that would -- we would look up at billboards and he would say, "That's one version of beauty. You're another version of beauty. And she's a version of beauty. And that girl? She's another version of beauty." He always said that beauty came from within, and as much as you're younger and you're [sarcastically] like, "Yeah, beauty comes from within" -- no, beauty does come from within. I've met some of the most beautiful people, and sadly their heart is just not smiling, and that destroys it all. And then other people that aesthetically aren't considered as beautiful are the most gorgeous people I've ever seen in my life.
Rebel Wilson(06 of17)
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The actress took to Twitter to say, "I'm not trying to be hot. I'm just trying to be a good actress and entertain people." (credit:Facebook)
Ashley Judd(07 of17)
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After the March 2012 frenzy around Judd's "puffy face," the actress fought back in The Daily Beast, calling the media out for making women's bodies "a source of speculation, ridicule, and invalidation, as if they belong to others." (credit:Facebook)
Danielle Brooks(08 of17)
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The "Orange Is The New Black" actress wrote a powerful essay for Glamour about her struggles with self-esteem and journey to body love. She's now dedicated to making sure all body types are seen on-screen:"Ideally, I want to see all beauties, all shapes, all sizes, all skin tones, all backgrounds represented in my profession. Now that I am blessed to be that reflection I was once looking for, I’m making a promise to speak out for that little girl that I used to be." (credit:Getty)
Allison Tate(09 of17)
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Tate's essay about body image and motherhood not only broke the Internet; it has sparked a movement of "moms who stay in the picture." (credit:Allison Tate)
Gabourey Sidibe(10 of17)
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The "Precious" actress had the most incredible comeback to cruel comments about her weight.
Autumn Whitefield Madrano(11 of17)
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On her informed, thoughtful blog "The Beheld," Autumn writes about beauty, body image, appearance and her two -- that's right, two -- mirror fasts. (credit:Facebook)
Kjerstin Gruys(12 of17)
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Gruys went on a year-long mirror fast during which she did not study her reflection in mirrors or other reflective surfaces, or look at photographs of herself. (credit:Facebook)
Lena Dunham(13 of17)
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At the 2012 New Yorker Festival, the magazine's TV critic, Emily Nussbaum, asked Lena Dunham, producer, creator and star of the hit HBO show "Girls," why Dunham is naked in so many scenes. Dunham responded, "I realized that what was missing in movies for me was the presence of bodies I understood." She said she plans to live until she is 105 and show her thighs every day. (credit:Facebook)
Alexa Chung(14 of17)
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Chung responded to critics who suggested that her slight frame made her a bad role model for young women, saying:"Just because I exist in this shape doesn't mean that I'm, like, advocating it." (credit:Facebook)
Stella Boonshoft(15 of17)
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The NYU student started the amazing Body Love Blog, where she posted this picture of herself and wrote an open letter to those who feel entitled to shame others for the size or look of their bodies. (credit:Facebook)
Beth Ditto(16 of17)
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This 5-foot-tall, 200-pound singer spoke openly about her weight to The Advocate, saying, "I feel sorry ... for people who've had skinny privilege and then have it taken away from them. I have had a lifetime to adjust to seeing how people treat women who aren't their idea of beautiful and therefore aren't their idea of useful, and I had to find ways to become useful to myself." (credit:Facebook)
Mindy Kaling(17 of17)
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In 2013 interview with Parade, Kaling said that she was tired of being discussing her appearance:"I always get asked, 'Where do you get your confidence?' I think people are well meaning, but it's pretty insulting. Because what it means to me is, 'You, Mindy Kaling, have all the trappings of a very marginalized person. You're not skinny, you're not white, you're a woman. Why on earth would you feel like you're worth anything?'" (credit:Getty)