Women should be able to post breastfeeding pics on Facebook, says Gail Gago

Women should be able to post pictures of themselves breastfeeding their children on Facebook, South Australia's Minister for the Status of Women Gail Gago said today.

Image: Facebook removed an image of a breastfeeding mother who posted it to a solidarity group. Picture: Facebook

Ms Gago says she will write to Facebook owner, Mark Zuckerberg, asking that a ban on photographs of breastfeeding be overturned in cases where women had uploaded their own pictures.

Facebook’s terms of use state that users cannot post content that is hateful, pornographic, contains nudity or incites violence.

It also reserves the right to remove any content that infringes or violates another's rights or the law.

Ms Gago said she supported mothers protesting after news reports said at least 375 users were temporarily banned from Facebook for posting breastfeeding photos.

Facebook should allow photographs of those women who were willing to share their own experiences, the minister said.

"Breastfeeding your baby is a normal and natural thing to do," Ms Gago said.

"There is no valid reason for any social media network to ban legitimate pictures posted by women of themselves breastfeeding their own children."

The ban has prompted angry mums to organise a protest at Facebook's Australian offices tomorrow.

Sydneysider Lucy Allen, 21, had her Facebook account deactivated for two days in July last year after she posted a photo of herself breastfeeding and pumping milk at the same time.

“Facebook didn’t actually give me a reason," Ms Allen said.

"They just said it was a breach of their terms of use."

You be the judge. Scroll down to see the photo that was removed.

Ms Allen said that she used the image to explain to women that breastfeeding and pumping at the same time helped milk production.

The Facebook policy has led to the creation of a group, “Hey Facebook, breastfeeding is not obscene!” which has more than 257,000 supporters removed from its social networking site internationally.

Stay-at-home mum April Bevin, 24, is another joining the “Boob Out” protest set to take place at Facebook’s Sydney offices in King Street at noon on February 7.

So far 391 people have been recorded as having had breastfeeding photos removed by Facebook, according to website Tera.ca which was set up to collect all the images Facebook has taken down.

Facebook told news.com.au that breastfeeding photos were only ever removed after they had been brought to the social networking site’s attention by other users who report them as violations.

All photos are reviewed by Facebook before they are removed.

“Facebook is glad that mothers and their families - including many who work at Facebook - use Facebook to share their parenting experiences, including breastfeeding their children,” a spokesperson said.

“By uploading photos, joining groups, and engaging with different organisations, these families are able to share and connect on a very important topic, and we are thrilled they are using Facebook to do so.

“On some occasions, breastfeeding photos contain nudity – for example an exposed breast that is not being used for feeding – and therefore violate our terms. When such photos are reported to us and are found to violate our policies, the person who posted the photo is contacted, and the photos are removed.

“Our policies strive to fit the needs of a diverse community while respecting everyone’s interest in sharing content that is important to them, including experiences related to breastfeeding. “

- With AAP

Image: 21-year-old mother Lucy Allen used this photo to educate mothers on nursing but Facebook removed the image. Picture: Lucy Allen

What do you think? Are you for or against breastfeeding in public and do you support women who post photos on social networking sites?

Comment

Was this helpful?
No Very

Name (optional)

Website (optional)

Email Address (optional)

Please fill in the text in the image in the box below

Comment (optional)