Company Slut-Shames Job Applicant for Bikini Photo on Her Personal Instagram

When Emily applied for an internship at Kickass Masterminds, she probably didn't consider that they would dig up her old social media photos, screenshot them, and post them to the company Instagram as a "PSA" to applicants about what not to do. Her post about the company's actions went completely viral for their inappropriate slut-shaming, making Emily a sought-after candidate for social media and marketing positions... elsewhere. 

And here we are. So much about this story is so wrong, and I'm just glad that the people at Kickass Masterminds seemed to get exactly what they had coming to them. 

It all started when Emily posted to Twitter about the way the company objectified her. 

Emily had applied for an internship with the company. They took it upon themselves to search her personal social media accounts, find a picture of her in a bikini, screenshot it, and post it to their professional Instagram page as a warning to other applicants. It's shocking that they thought this was an acceptable thing to do. 

Emily reposted the picture herself, so we're sharing it here.

"I am looking for a professional marketer — not a bikini model," they wrote. On the company Instagram. "Go on with your bad self and do whatever in private. But this is not doing you any favors in finding a professional job."

Wowzers. Emily's post attracted the attention of Twitter accounts with massive follower counts like @SheRatesDogs, who reposted her story. Immediately, support and anger on Emily's behalf started pouring in. 

It's 2019. How many more times do we have to say that women should be able to wear whatever they want without fear of being sexualized or slut-shamed? The person who posted this clearly doesn't understand that a woman can have a body that she sometimes chooses to show off and still be professional in the workplace. What is so hard to understand about that? 

People who became aware of the story began to collect information about the company, Kickass Masterminds. And it turns out it's a company almost entirely run by women. Women (and men! but in this case, women) need to stop projecting the misogyny that has become so ingrained in our culture that makes us see women as little more than their bodies. 

Not to mention, it is extremely unprofessional for them to repost someone's personal pictures to their company account. As one Twitter user wrote, "'Cause nothing says 'professionalism' like putting someone's pool pics on blast." It's really insane that they're crying about being professional while doing the most awful, unprofessional thing in the world. 

Luckily, Twitter was full of support — and job offers! — for Emily, who clearly dodged a bullet by finding out who's really behind Kickass Masterminds. 

Meanwhile, because of all the negative attention, Kickass Masterminds made all their social media private and even deleted their Facebook page. Even if you choose to engage in slut-shaming in 2019, you don't get away with it. And that's a comfort, at least.