Snapchat honored International Women’s Day on Wednesday by adding three new custom filters to its collection allowing users to take selfies as powerful female icons: Mexican artist Frida Kahlo, civil rights activist Rosa Parks and scientist Marie Curie.
Snapchat’s face detection technology lets users customize their snaps with colorful overlay graphics and animated stickers.
When you opened your mouth with the Marie Curie filter, for example, the screen would fill with exploding chemicals. In the case of Rosa Parks, a word bubble would pop up with her infamous quote: “You must never be fearful about what you are doing when it is right.”
But the filters have left some female users skeptical.
On Twitter, many wondered why the tech company felt the need to turn Marie Curie into a ‘hot scientist’ by applying smokey eye make-up and fake eyelashes on her face. The French physicist is known for having won the Nobel Prize twice for her groundbreaking work on radioactivity.
Food for thought: @Snapchat Why the smokey eye on Marie Curie? Sexualizing women on #InternationalWomensDay seems counter intuitive… pic.twitter.com/xMQBWeI4DI
— Leila Gharagozlou (@Lghara93) March 8, 2017
“Snapchat made a Marie Curie filter for International Women’s day and still put eyeshadow and lashes on it” remarked @kerry_metters.
@GabHodges concurred, calling the move a “#snapfail.”
“When @Snapchat gives Marie Curie fake lashes instead of goggles for international women’s day. #snapfail” she wrote.
Other people, meanwhile, complained that the filters were racially insensitive.
The Frida Kahlo filter, which applied bright red lipstick, the artist’s signature monobrow and a flower crown to a user’s face also visibly lightened his or her skin and eyes.
According to some users, the contrast was all the more striking on people of color.
“Curious as to how and why Snapchat thought a sepia toned filter for Rosa Parks and a similar one for Frida Kahlo was appropriate” wrote @femmeminem.
“Who thought it was a good idea to have a Rosa Parks snapchat filter??” wondered @GrundyOxford
This is not the first time Snapchat courts controversy with its special filters.
The company has been widely criticized for releasing “beautifying” filters that favor light complexion, make user’s skin whiter and alter their facial features (e.g: making their nose and jaw smaller). The move was denounced as an attempt to promote an unrealistic and “flawless” ideal of feminine beauty.
Last year, Snapchat also caused a stir for honoring musician Bob Marley with what many regarded as the equivalent of a “digital blackface” filter. A couple of months later, it was accused of spreading harmful racial stereotypes about Asians after launching an anime-inspired filter that gave users squinty eyes.
“Lenses are meant to be playful and never to offend,” Snapchat said in a statement at the time.
The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
