Inappropriate?

This picture was big news for a minute yesterday. The Minister of Youth and Culture, Lisa Hanna, posted this to her official government Instagram page. It was taken after the Reggae Marathon in Negril last weekend. Some people were very upset, witness this Facebook page which asked the question: “QUESTION: It this picture appropriate for a Minister of our government to post on her Public Page (LIKE PAGE) on Facebook?” There are over 1,200 responses and comments so far.

One journalist pointed out that she wished that people would pay as much attention to her policies. Agreed. For the record, of course I don’t see anything wrong with a woman wearing a bathing suit on the beach, however, I think it is indeed questionable to use a government account for such a purpose. The government has no policies on social media usage for its employees, and clearly there is a need for one. This issue has come up as governments all over the world struggle to define the line between the public and private realms.