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Hey Facebook, breastfeeding is not obscene |
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By: Shashank Shekhar |
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Date:
2008-12-31 |
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Place: Delhi |
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The popular social networking website has banned photographs of nursing mothers; users are up in arms
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An image from Claire Gannon's Facebook profile | Is breastfeeding in public obscene? The popular social networking website, Facebook, thinks so. While the poignant image of a mother with a baby at her breast has inspired artists through ages, Facebook has decided to term it "obscene, pornographic or sexually explicit". The social networking company has been deleting photographs of nursing mothers. Their sin, said Facebook, was not the actual image of breastfeeding. It was the visibility of the areola, the dark area around the nipple. The website explained that these images violated the decency standards set up for posting pictures on the site.
The social networking site has clarified that it has no problem with photographs of nursing mothers provided they don't violate the site's policy that prohibits visible nipples or areola. Facebook has also said that it doesn't actively seek out breastfeeding shots but only removes images after users complain.
But this prejudice has angered the site's users and they have initiated an online petition asking Facebook to lift the ban. The petition has already been joined by around 80,000 users and they have posted more than 10,500 comments and 3,100 breastfeeding pictures in protest.
Radhika Verma, a BPO employee and an avid Facebook user from Delhi, said, "Facebook should not delete breastfeeding photographs as long as they are not being misused. Some of them are even used for educational purposes. These photographs are not vulgar. I support the petition to lift the ban."
The agitated members have formed a group, "Hey, Facebook, breastfeeding is not obscene!"
Members of this group want the website to allow breastfeeding photographs and stop classifying them as obscene. Their petition said, "What is obscene about a baby being breastfed? Especially in comparison with many other pictures posted all over Facebook that are really obscene. Facebook, we expect more from you, and we expect you to realise that nursing moms have a right to show pictures of their babies eating, just like bottle-fed babies have a right to be seen. In an effort to appease the closed-minded, you are only serving to be detrimental to babies, women and the society."
Morgan, a Facebook user, wrote in her post, "i [sic] have seen pics [sic] of underage girls practically showing their nipples here! Why is that ok [sic]? I think it's wonderful for a mother to want to show off her ability to naturally take care of her infant. On the other hand, I think it's disgusting and appalling to see a 13-year-old girl making out with another girl and holding booze [sic]! But i [sic] guess this is not surprising since Facebook is run by a man."
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