(In the above pic to promote World Breastfeeding Week Lucy Lawless is pictured breastfeeding her then three-month-old son Judah)
More than 58,000 people reportedly are protesting Facebook’s decision to remove images of women breastfeeding from the social networking site.
The controversy actually began in the summer of 2007 when Kelli Roman’s Facebook profile photo of her nursing her infant daughter disappeared. There was no explanation as to why the photo was deleted from her page and Facebook never responded to her inquiries asking why it was removed.
Kelli started a Facebook group — Hey Facebook, Breastfeeding is Not Obscene. Within the group’s page is a collection of photos — many of which were the ones that had been removed from the users’ profile pages. But even though these photos haven’t been removed, Facebook still hasn’t changed its policy.
The group is not relenting and has organized a virtual “nurse-in” on Facebook on December 27th. They’re asking members to change their profile photo for the day, to a picture of a nursing child, and to add the sentence, “Hey Facebook, breastfeeding is not obscene!” to their status message.
“We need to take our bodies back,” said mother and protester Stephanie Muir. “Whether there’s a nipple exposed or not, female breasts, specifically in the context of breast-feeding, should not be considered obscene.”
Facebook spokesman Barry Schnitt said the site removes photos only when the entire breast is shown.
“These policies are designed to ensure Facebook remains a safe, secure and trusted environment for all users, including the many children who use the site,” said Barry Schnitt.
What do you think? And will you participate in the “nurse-in?”
More than 58,000 people reportedly are protesting Facebook’s decision to remove images of women breastfeeding from the social networking site.
The controversy actually began in the summer of 2007 when Kelli Roman’s Facebook profile photo of her nursing her infant daughter disappeared. There was no explanation as to why the photo was deleted from her page and Facebook never responded to her inquiries asking why it was removed.
Kelli started a Facebook group — Hey Facebook, Breastfeeding is Not Obscene. Within the group’s page is a collection of photos — many of which were the ones that had been removed from the users’ profile pages. But even though these photos haven’t been removed, Facebook still hasn’t changed its policy.
The group is not relenting and has organized a virtual “nurse-in” on Facebook on December 27th. They’re asking members to change their profile photo for the day, to a picture of a nursing child, and to add the sentence, “Hey Facebook, breastfeeding is not obscene!” to their status message.
“We need to take our bodies back,” said mother and protester Stephanie Muir. “Whether there’s a nipple exposed or not, female breasts, specifically in the context of breast-feeding, should not be considered obscene.”
Facebook spokesman Barry Schnitt said the site removes photos only when the entire breast is shown.
“These policies are designed to ensure Facebook remains a safe, secure and trusted environment for all users, including the many children who use the site,” said Barry Schnitt.
What do you think? And will you participate in the “nurse-in?”
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