NEW YORK: Elon Musk has once again declared that “Instagram is for girls”, turning a four-word post on X into another social media debate about gender stereotypes and the rivalry between two of the world’s biggest social platforms.
The latest exchange began when Geiger Capital posted on X that it had deleted Instagram, describing the Meta-owned platform as an “inherently female app” with “zero benefit”. Musk responded simply: “Instagram is for girls.”
The remark quickly spread across X, with some users agreeing with Musk, others mocking the idea that an app could be associated with one gender and still others accusing him of reinforcing gender stereotypes. Taking part in the debate, some users agreed with Musk, with several joking that X is more suited to men.
Others rejected the idea of categorising Instagram according to gender, arguing that the platform has a broad user base and is used for everything from entertainment and business to activism and personal expression. One user argued that Instagram caters to people across demographics and includes content focused on body positivity, inclusivity and diverse representation.
Another user responded sarcastically, suggesting Musk had only reached that conclusion after creating an Instagram account himself. In the past, Musk has previously made similar comments about Instagram. During a social media discussion earlier this year, he reportedly criticised men who sent him links to their Instagram profiles and again described the platform as being primarily associated with women.
His latest post has once again turned the brief exchange into a wider discussion about the different cultures and audiences associated with X and Instagram. Musk and Meta’s long-running rivalry, as the latest exchange also comes against the backdrop of Musk’s broader rivalry with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
Meta launched Threads in July 2023 as a text-based social platform linked closely to Instagram. The service was widely viewed as a competitor to X, leading to public exchanges between Musk and Zuckerberg. Musk’s xAI and Meta are both competing in the artificial intelligence sector, with the companies developing their own AI models and products.
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