Stop Showing Your Dang Breast(-feeding) Pictures on Facebook!!

For a couple of months now, there has been a controversy brewing over on Facebook. Whereas most controversies stem from illicit photographs or underage kids in compromising positions, this one stems, oddly enough, from the site taking DOWN pictures of women’s breast.

Specifically: there was a woman who had just had a baby, and, in her excitement to show the world how nurturing of a Mom she is, took pics of herself breastfeeding, then posted them on her Facebook page. Facebook took the pictures down because some of the pictures had her entire breast, nipple and all, being exposed, and it’s against their policy to allow that.

This mom got angry, and decided to protest Facebook. She argued that breastfeeding is not only natural, but a beautiful expression of motherhood. Furthermore, she feels that, because the breasts aren’t being shown off in a sexual manner, that the pics should be okay to post up.

Um… what parallel world is this Mom living in??

First of all, this lady does not have a mandate on how her breast can be viewed. Just because she doesn’t see them as being posed in a sexual light, doesn’t mean someone else looking at the pics won’t. Perhaps she’s not thinking about the young 13 year old guys on the site who, upon being fresh into puberty, will happily get off looking at any breasts they can see without their parents finding out about it. ANY breasts. She might think, “oh, but my baby’s head is in the way,” but she’d be amazed at the images Photoshop can delete (her baby) and/or enhance (her breasts).

Second, WHAT KIND OF PARENTAL STUPIDITY IS THIS?!? Do all women who have kids suddenly lose their minds and think I want to know every single detail about her parenting life, or how she interacts with her kid? As far as I’m concerned, breastfeeding is a private act not meant for public view. I get so annoyed when I see mothers in public with their kids, and they suddenly feel the need to “whip it out” and feed their kid. This is why you prep the breast milk in a bottle BEFORE you go out in public!!

And third, how does breastfeeding being a “natural” act give this person the right to post the pictures up? You know what else is a “natural” act? Crapping and urinating! Yet, I’d be willing to bet this same woman would be in an uproar if a picture of a man relieving himself in public showed up on a profile. God forbid her baby sees that shot while being breastfed!!

This mom is being selfish. There are millions of users on Facebook, ranging from middle schoolers to old people, and, to Facebook’s credit, they understand that some of those people might be deterred when, upon doing a search for one of their friends, they see a picture of a Mom with her boob hanging out. I know if I had kids (which, for the record, I NEVER plan on), I’d hate to have to be even MORE cautious about where they go on the internet. I mean, I understand guarding them from porn sites… but having to monitor explicit photos on a peer networking site?!?

Facebook is MORE than right in its assessment of not allowing these types of pictures up. Hopefully this mom, along with other moms who think like her, will finally get it in their heads that the only person who should be seeing her breastfeed is her and her dang baby!

-Aaron P. Taylor