Facebook continues to remove breastfeeding pictures from their site and disable the accounts of users who have posted them. Facebook has also threatened the removal of the group: ?Hey Facebook, Breastfeeding is not Obscene! ( Official Petition to Facebook)? claiming that the group is in violation of the terms of use for uploading nudity and sexually explicit content (ie: images of breastfeeding mothers).
Breastfeeding is normal, healthy and beneficial to mother and child in countless ways. All major health agencies and organizations recommend exclusive breastfeeding to six months with continued breastfeeding after the introduction of complimentary foods to two years and beyond. Breastfeeding in public is protected by law. Despite all we know of the immense physiological, emotional, ecological and psychological benefits of breastfeeding for both mother and child, our society continues to stigmatize and make attempts to conceal this very healthy human behaviour. Facebook is one more place where the depiction of nursing mothers is considered taboo, objectionable and in their own words: ?obscene or sexually explicit content?. We want Facebook to stop removing breastfeeding images from their site.
As mothers, as women and as supporters of mothers and women, we find Facebook's policy of removing breastfeeding images from their site to be discriminatory, harmful and unnecessary.
Breastfeeding is not a sexually explicit act, is not lewd, is not obscene nor does viewing the image of it cause any harm. Not only is it NOT harmful to view images of breastfeeding mothers, in fact it causes harm to stigmatize this activity and keep these images concealed from view.
Facebook users want the option of sharing this very normal, timeless and healthy activity with family and friends or in groups dedicated to promoting, protecting and supporting breastfeeding by posting pictures of themselves nursing their babies in their private and group albums.
March 8th 2010 is International Woman's Day. Please join us in an act of solidarity and support by changing you profile picture to one of a nursing mother for the day, accompanied by the status message: ?Hey Facebook, Breastfeeding is not Obscene?. The image can be a photograph of yourself or if you do not have a nursing picture, you may use any image of a mother nursing her child. There are hundreds of images available to use including ancient works of art, drawings, international symbols or even a picture of another mammal feeding her young (pet cats, dogs, farm animals etc...)
Let's stand up to the discrimination of women and babies on Facebook.