HEY, FACEBOOK, BREASTFEEDING IS NOT OBSCENE!
These pages are dedicated to breastfeeding women everywhere. They provide what is needed in the start of life. Breastfeeding is a very important act in nurturing children, and often a highlight in the life and memory of women, as the photos below suggest.
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Here we present the fifth page of photos banned from the social utility Facebook, as well as a few that haven't been. With several hundred million users, Facebook still removes from its pages photographs of women breastfeeding, despite complaints about that practice beginning as long ago as June 2007.
Facebook claimed that breastfeeding photos violated its terms of service if they showed "an entire breast." Eventually it dropped the vagueness and the euphemism and claimed that all photos with a visible nipple or areola were "obscene," "pornographic," or "sexually explicit." This claim by Facebook is at odds with legislation, case law, and actual practice throughout the USA. In addition, breastfeeding itself is allowed in public, exposed breasts or not, in almost all states in the country. By its attitude and action, Facebook is wrong. It demeans and stigmatizes women and breastfeeding.
In May 2009, the same Facebook spokesperson responsible for the above claims said that Facebook removes only a small number of photos of naked women breastfeeding. That would be funny if it weren't so ignorant. Facebook also claims that images of breasts harm children. That's absurd. Facebook wrongly uses children as an excuse for its immaturity and errors.
Facebook is undoubtedly a great utility, both useful and fun. Its worldwide acceptance on the Internet confers upon it a responsibility to do better.
The protest against Facebook's removal of many breastfeeding photos isn't really about legality. It's not even about rights. It's about what is right.
Number of photos in this collection: 237. Of those, 221 have been banned, some more than once. The others are here for comparison. (Many, many more have been banned than we have collected.) Comments from the photos' owners are often illuminating.
Our NON-DISCLAIMER re photos
Many sites would carry a warning: Keep away if you're under 18! NSFW!
We don't believe in that. Women's breasts in photos like these bother no one except those who have unfortunately been trained to be embarrassed by them or to control them when they have no right to.
Anyone wanting to send a banned photo or a series from which one or more were banned, please send:
-- Your photo(s), at Facebook
profile size or bigger;
-- Your name (and whether you want that indicated);
-- Your best contact e-mail address (will not be
indicated);
-- The date (month/year will do) when the photo was banned
(if it was);
-- Accompanying comments: whatever you want to say. Links
are possible to your e-mail address and/or your
breastfeeding-related site if you wish.
Unlike on Facebook, the photos remain your property. We will not use them for any other purpose whatever. They will be deleted on request of the owner or provider.
We post most of the photos at the same height. We acknowledge that some appeared on Facebook bigger, and a few smaller. The effect a photo has depends on size, among other things. Also, we cannot guarantee how things like colour or contrast appear, because they depend on individual monitors.
Photographs on this site are not to be reproduced in any location or in any medium or format without the prior consent of the owner of the photograph, except as permitted by law. Neither TERA nor its proprietors, members, or site host assumes any responsibility for what is posted, with which they may or may not agree. Comments may be edited for clarity or legal reasons.
English: "This picture was deleted on July 19, 2010 because it contains 'nudity.' They even made me acknowledge that my picture contains nudity! or else a huge warning would appear every time I logged into my account. "The picture has been on my Facebook since September 16, 2009, but when I added it to the group 'Hey Facebook, breastfeeding is not obscene! (Official petition to Facebook)' on July 17, 2010 (same day I posted this picture as my profile pic), it was deleted two days after." Español: "Esta foto fué borrada en Julio 19, 2010 porque contiene 'desnudos.' Ellos hasta me hicieron admitir que mi foto contiene desnudos! o si no una advertencia gigante me aparecia en mi cuenta cada vez que entraba. "La foto ha estado en mi Facebook desde Septiembre 16, 2009, pero no fué hasta que la añadí al grupo 'Hey Facebook, breastfeeding is not obscene! (Official petition to Facebook)' en Julio 17, 2010 (mismo día en que puse esta foto como foto de perfil) que dos días después fué borrada." |
Photo from Sheritza Vega |
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All three photos were banned on September 2, 2010. They were taken of Kasie Monchak and her son by her husband immediately after the birth (left), about a minute
later (centre), and about 20 minutes later (right). They were removed after being reported by a "friend" in what Kasie believes was an act of retaliation for her
posting comments the other person did not agree with.
Even if these aren't precisely breastfeeding photos, they're close, and clearly related to breastfeeding. We don't usually print censored photos (the two on the left), but
all three are the actual photos Facebook banned. The uncensored versions are on Facebook. We won't say where, because then they might be banned as well.
These may be more difficult images for some people. Does that mean they have to be censored? We find the two on the left (in their original version) two of the
most arresting images we've seen. We thank Kasie Monchak for sharing them with a world that needs them.
GO TO PAGE 6 (the first page of these photos)
GO TO PAGE 7 (more photos)
GO TO PAGE 9 (more photos)
GO TO PAGE 10 (more photos)
GO TO PAGE 11 (more photos)
GO TO PAGE 12 (more photos)
GO TO PAGE 13 (more photos)