News > Culture > Facebook: Feeding Babies is Obscene

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MONDAY SEPTEMBER 10 2007 4:00 PM

Facebook: Feeding Babies is Obscene

Submitted by Bitch_PhD

Edited by erin_broadley

Tags: breastfeeding, facebook, lactivists, women's rights, the internet

Facebook has made a bad mistake. Apparently they've been deleting pictures of breastfeeding mamas and babies, and in some cases even deleting the accounts of said mamas. This, apparently, because they (1) consider breasts obscene, and (2) can't differentiate between a titty shot and a picture of someone feeding a baby.

"Photos containing an exposed breast do violate our Terms and are removed," she said.

It's not clear what constitutes an "exposed breast", which has the lactivists baffled.

Facebook did not respond to emails requesting further clarification but several group members have reported that their images were removed despite the fact they contained no nipple.

As anyone who's ever had a baby knows, you Do Not Fuck With Breastfeeding Mamas, who are one of the most easily organized groups on the internet. After all, websurfing is one of the few things you can do easily while nursing a baby. And mamas who breastfeed are pretty damn militant (rightly so), since it takes a certain amount of chutzpah just to overcome the "omg, titties!" thing and decide to nurse in the first place.

I predict that Facebook's going to change their mind about this policy within a week. So if you're on Facebook and agree that they should learn the difference between porn and breastfeeding, you'd better hurry up and join the Hey, Facebook, breastfeeding is not obscene! group; since the original article linked at the top of this story appeared three days ago, the group's gotten almost 10,000 members, who've posted over 600 breastfeeding photos.

Bitch_PhD breastfed her kid for two and a half years.

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Comments

r00kers

Nederland, CO

February 2003

SEP 10, 2007 09:04 PM

I find it almost inconceivable that this is still being argued about in 2007. There is nothing morally or aesthetically wrong with breastfeeding. Damn, the facebook idjits have been sucking on the dweebahol.

chrisnail_and_i

Victoria, BC

December 2003

SEP 10, 2007 09:08 PM

I'm truly amazed at the amount of people on THIS site that are uncomfortable seeing a woman's naked breast with a baby latched on?!? You all are quite obviously okay with naked breasts on their own. So, what exactly makes it dirty, the baby?!

MaryJane

SUICIDEGIRL

USA

SEP 10, 2007 09:12 PM

Anomalisa said:
Defecating stinks and attracts flies. It is also a biohazard. It probably didn't take much for our primitive ancestors to figure out that shitting should be done somewhere other than in the middle of the village. So pooping in private became part of the world's culture because it kept things smelling better, kept away the flies, and helped prevent the transmission of disease.

Breast feeding on the other hand doesn't produce offensive odors and I don't think you have to fear stepping into a puddle of breast milk and getting it all over your shoe after a mother breast feeds. It can be a biohazard if the mother has HIV, but how often do you see an out of control nipple squirting milk all over the place? So I don't think there's much to fear about the milk itself. So then what is it about breast feeding that alarms so many people in the Western culture? It's the boobies!

Let me add that sneezing is also natural and most people don't freak out if you sneeze in their presence. Why? Part of it is perhaps because it doesn't produce any nasty odors. It wasn't until just recently in history that we realized that it spreads germs. So the world's cultures didn't evolve to freak out when someone sneezes, however we do say "God bless you" and such because a sneeze invites in demons through your nostrils--at least that's what some people used to think.

you rule

MaryJane

SUICIDEGIRL

USA

SEP 10, 2007 09:13 PM

chrisnail_and_i said:
I'm truly amazed at the amount of people on THIS site that are uncomfortable seeing a woman's naked breast with a baby latched on?!? You all are quite obviously okay with naked breasts on their own. So, what exactly makes it dirty, the baby?!

you rule too!!

roll_forever

Victoria, BC

October 2006

SEP 10, 2007 09:14 PM

people who are put off by public breastfeeding, or think "why cant she do that at home, or use a pump and bottle it" don't understand the constant needs of an infant. theres no way you could unless you were a parent yourself. besides, a mother couldn't give a shit about these people. shes proud of this connection between her child and herself. just a guess, but this is probably the reason moms post pics of it. nothing wrong with that.... posting pics of using or public use of a pump would be a little strange tho.

Sporky

I'm lost

September 2007

SEP 10, 2007 09:17 PM

mamet said:
I joined the group, and I agree with the message. But the term "lactivist" is really, really stupid.

Life is kind of sad when you need a modern-day word to describe that you are an activist for breastfeeding, when, really, feeding your own child, the natural way, has been around for at least thousands of years.

DCruz

Montreal-nord, QC

November 2006

SEP 10, 2007 10:59 PM

I admit, breastfeeding is natural, nothing obsene about it, heck everything that's natural is fine by me... whether I wanna see it or not, that's my thing, but if people wanna show what they do, I have no problem with that. Now, as stupid as it may be, a website can do what they want as long as they own it. As someone else said, if you don't like it, you just go somewhere else or make your own place. That's all.

Oh wait, not yet... MaryJane, loved the pic, very cute

Now that is all.

MissMir

USA

November 2004

SEP 10, 2007 10:59 PM

i'm so fucking sick of this war against breastfeeding.

This might come as a shock, but THATS WHAT TITS ARE FOR. They actually have a function. Yeah... who knew.

Anyway, i honestly don't see a problem with women putting breastfeeding pictures on their facebook/myspace/whatever. I think it's a beautiful thing, people put pictures of themselves bottle feeding and i don't see a difference. Especially if it's photographed in an artistic way, and not just a snap shot. Why on earth would they feel it necessary to delete their accounts??