When I was writing the ''Brelfie'' post the other day I complained to my husband how I have hundreds of brelfies but can find only a few that are not...well...too out there. He told me that if I used one of those photos I would have to tag it as NSFW or I would get flagged.
Flagged.
For a photo of me feeding my kid. Or kids. Depending on the brelfie I would choose. I got really pissed off. I mean, how could anybody in the right mind consider a child eating to be something explicit? What kind of sick, perverted humans get off on photographs of kids eating? I guess there would be a few because he proposed the tag, and he is here longer than I am.
But censorship of breastfeeding is nothing new on the interwebs. Women have fought with Facebook and Instagram for years over it. Women's nipples are generally considered to be somehow offensive, unlike men's nipples, or pictures of cruelty to animals, or publicly shaming kids, or racism, or rape and death threats man make towards women on a daily basis when they disagree with them. Which is all fine and dandy.
But feeding a child with breasts. Man. That is outrageously offensive. To those same men. So let me take you through a few instances of offensive boobs.
http://www.4thtrimesterbodiesproject.com/
Every year when World Breastfeeding Week comes around woman post brealfies around the clock. It's like posting Christmas trees on Christmas or Easter eggs on Easter. That's the way we party. Many mommy bloggers, family photographers, all kinds of businesses use ads depicting breastfeeding to promote their business. Yes, even Nestle. So It often happens Facebook and Instagram refuse to boost their posts, ads or downright block their accounts for days, or weeks if some idiot flags the post. (side note: I have, on many occasions, flagged comments like ''I'll kill you whore'' or Memes showing violence towards women and Facebook told me they see no problem with those posts). Here is an incident described by in an article on Huffpost:
''I was sent a clip of the story by Amy Garneran, an author at the New Orleans Moms Blog, and the subject of the controversy. Garneran wrote about breastfeeding during World Breastfeeding Week. She paid to have a graphic designed, a tight shot of a baby nursing and the side of his mother’s breast and then paid to have the image marketed to specific demographics of Facebook users. However, Facebook rejected the image, stating that its policies “disallows overly sexual images, suggestive nudity, showing a lot of skin or cleavage, or focusing unnecessarily on specific body parts.”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/clint-edwards/facebook-censored-breastfeeding-sadly-i-wasnt-surprised_b_7992078.html
That's just one from hundreds of times Facebook did this. And Instagram is right there with them.
One of my favorite Facebook pages to follow is 4th Trimester Bodies project. The project was started by two women in June 2013. Ashlee Wells Jackson and her partner Laura Weetzie Wilson have photographed about 450 women, created a documentary and reached a three-volume book deal l. The goal is to let women see themselves represented on line, in media, on screen after having a baby. The project also features a whole spectrum of motherhood experience, bottle feeding, breastfeeding, c-section, VBAC, vaginal birth, thin women, large women, all types of bodies, color, ages...it is truly incredible and should be admired. Not censored.
But, as it usually happens when women's bodies are not just mere objects used to market car tiers or hamburgers or to please the male gaze in general, they got censored. Instagram account featuring photos from their project has been shut down nine times. They have been locked out of Facebook on multiple occasions, for about 100 days total. Numerous photos of moms breastfeeding and moms posing in undergarments have been flagged and removed on both platforms. Yes, feeding children and having visual evidence of birthing an actual human being is apparently that offensive.
I have many times over and again argued on the Interwebs (that's my favorite hobby) with people who get offended by women feeding their kids, in pictures or in life in general. Parks. Restaurants. You know, places other people usually eat at. So I kind of know all of their ''arguments''. It's a debate more predictable than one about WW2 between Serbs and Croatians.
I mean, they are all really incredibly stupid, illogical, puke worthy, easily dismissed (and can be summed up as ''I am an angry man baby that wants all woman's boobs just for my sexual pleasure and don't give a fuck about babies who have to eat. Man tears. Boo Hoo) and really just deserve a whole post of their own, but one of my favorites must be the one where they say ''Oh but how would it be if I masturbated in public or send you my dick pic'' or ''you are just doing that to get attention and/or make my husband look at you''.
Let that sink in.
Grown up human beings actually think the act of feeding a hungry child is attention seeking (Well kid, no pretzel for you. The lady over there would post it on Facebook to shame mommy for attention seeking) and sex. Yes. Sex. I mean, how stupid can you be?
Some men get all warm and fuzzy inside when they see some boob. So? I can name a few other body parts used in a sex act, you know, like hands and mouth and I don't see a general public demand for women covering up from head to toe because some men find a certain part of their body sexual or can imagine it being used in a sex act.
The sexuality of a certain body part, both women's and men's is all about context and, honestly, if you find a baby or a child eating to be some kind of a sexual context maybe a Facebook rant or demand to it be censored or hidden is not something you should do out loud. You may have some kind of severe psychological problem (or you are just a sad, sad excuse for a human being) and should seek help. And keep away from any and all children. Just saying.
To wrap it up, if you find yourself feeling insecure, offended, aroused, angry or having any other reaction besides ''Oh look, a baby eating. Cool mother. Doesn't let her kid starve. '' seek help and leave the mother alone. It's not her that has a problem, it's you.
Breastfeeding is not NSFW content.