Palo Alto (CA) - The AP is reporting that a Facebook group called "Hey, Facebook, breastfeeding is not obscene!" (with over 97,600 members) is outraged over a Facebook policy that prohibits breastfeeding mothers from uploading pictures of them feeding their children.


Kelli Roman, 23, posted this picture (below) of herself breastfeeding one of her two children last year. Several weeks later when she logged onto Facebook, the picture removed. After contacting Facebook's admin to figure out why, she received a generic form email reply which said, uploading "obscene, pornographic or sexually explicit" is prohibited. It so outraged her that she started the group, "Hey, Facebook, breastfeeding is not obscene!"




Said Stephanie Muir (of Ottowa, Canada), "I think it's time we all get over this notion that women's breasts are dangerous and harmful for children to see." According to Muir, more than 11,000 people participated in something called a "virtual nurse-in." They swapped out their normal Facebook profile picture with one depicting breast-feeding.

In Palo Alto, California, the headquarters of Facebook, a 23 year old mother named Heather Farley, along with 10 other women, showed up to breastfeed their babies right outside of Facebook's front door. This drew attention from local media, passers by and Facebook employees.

Barry Schnitt, a Facebook spokesman, said the company's guidelines allow most breast-feeding photos. However, he says Facebook draws the line at a visible nipple or areola. Facebook also removes pictures showing the gluteal cleft.

Schnitt continued, "We decided [years ago that] nudity was something we didn't want on the site. It doesn't matter the context. We would agree that there are absolutely many contexts for nudity where it is not obscene." He emphasized the impracticality of convening a panel to decide relevancy of every nude photo on a case-by-case basis.

See the original AP story.

From the Greatest Generation 60 years ago to the la...

Jan 02, 2009 01:56     

From the Greatest Generation 60 years ago to the lamest Generation today... Harden up!
Simon Adebisi report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +6

what is this?

Jan 02, 2009 02:10     

Yes, breast-feeding is a perfectly natural, non-obscene function ... so is urination - can I post a photo of myself whizzing off the porch so that your kids can see it?
Bob report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +3

breastfeeding

Jan 02, 2009 07:52     

what is some people's obsession with beastfeeding? Some women insist on doing it in public places and just whip out their jugs and shove it in the baby's mouth. Though I do not doubt they need to nurse their children at certain times there are apprpriate places to do that. Facebook is not one of them.
Pdogg report abuse vote down vote up Votes: -1

The perverts are the ones complaining

Jan 02, 2009 08:26     

Simple as that. Twisted weirdo perverts. Breast-feeding is as natural as it is desireable for young humans. Anyone trying to rund down, discredit or stand in the way of it is (whether they are aware of it or not) attacking children at the most fundamental level. They are at best just plain wrong and at worst nasty twisted weirdo perverts. ......and what sort of freak ever tried to indoctrinate anyone that parts of or whole naked human bodies are damaging to children anyways?

DaveBG report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +2

Don't use facebook?

Jan 02, 2009 09:11     

This is like going into someone else's house and demanding that _they_ abide by _your_ rules. That's ridiculous. Facebook can decide whatever they want for rules for using _their_ software. Granted, the generic email they sent her doesn't apply to her picture; they could have picked something better. If people don't like their rules, use a different social networking site, or build your own.
Jed report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +11

Got [Breast]Milk?

Jan 02, 2009 09:24     

I don't blame Facebook banning it. If they let people post these pictures what's going to stop the porn industry from showing that but saying she's just milking which is within the rules. I can completely understand why Facebook wants to stay a clean(kind of) site.
Headward report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Don't understand

Jan 02, 2009 09:45     

Once again I don't understand why people cannot keep this in their own personal lives, it's like there's no law if I decide to start cursing in public around kids, but of course I use my discretion and not do it. I don't know why breast feeding moms cannot do that.
webterractive report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Hypocrites (just like the rest of them)

Jan 02, 2009 10:06     

Yeah right. In a society where the media (including the likes of Facebook) can publish photos of barely clothed girls (including sexualising the very young) we get the odd-bods & pervs who want us to be outraged by a little bit of breast showing as a mother feeds her child. Get real. A tiny glimpse of the curve of the top of a breast is about as discreet a public view of female breast as it gets these days.

DaveBG report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +2

I don't want to see it!

Jan 02, 2009 10:11     

Seriously, why would you take a picture of yourself breast feeding your kid? Are you trying to show off that you can make milk and I can't? Stop shoving it in my face ladies, because I simply do not want to see it!
JackCrackerMan report abuse vote down vote up Votes: -1

LMAO, another man outraged by nature

Jan 02, 2009 10:32     

I have a suspicion JackCrackerMan reveals the truth (if maybe not meant entirely seriously). The anti side here are often (surprisingly, perhaps) male. Prudes and religious types who want to foist their odd views re the human body on everyone. I just wonder what, exactly, it is they are so frightened of or disgusted by? Human flesh? I'd love to see some kind of vote on this, maybe a public referendum. Then the anti side could see just how out-of-step and isolated they are and the rest of us could move on without this absurd & thoroughly petty nonsense.

DaveBG report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

@ DaveBG

Jan 02, 2009 10:33     

Easy there tiger, let's not go overboard here. If someone wants to breastfeed in public, I think it appropriate to cover up a bit. Don't think that makes me a pervert. I see someone breastfeeding, rather uncovered, I avert my eyes and for a couple of reasons. First, I find it a little embarassing to be seeing that much of her. Second, despite her location, I still think some privacy for her is warranted.

JT report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +2

JT, it's all about the benefit

Jan 02, 2009 10:56     

Whether or not some people are uncomfortable with this (and I defy anyone to honestly say that when they see a woman breast-feeding that they actually 'see' anything like as much breast as can be seen on your average advertising hoarding, magazing spread or internet ad) the fact is that those few having a hard time with this just need to get used to it. Breast feeding is by some margin the most healthy means of feeding young children. It needs encouragement and facilitating, that is where the 'weight' and emphasis ought to be. Not a torrent of mean-minded abuse, and criticism that ends up with women and their children being forced into hiding away when a feed is required. I'm perfectly calm about this.....but have you ever heard some of the spiteful sour comments aimed at women - often until then completely unnoticed by people around them? By all means have more mother's rooms to create more privacy but, let's be honest, that's never going to be always possible of practical. The idea that feeding mothers should feel ashamed or discouraged is IMO what ought to be considered outrageous here.

DaveBG report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +2

This is not a church

Jan 02, 2009 15:51     

If you think seeing the act breast-feeding is insulting or "dangerous for children"(WHAT?!) you are sick. SERIOUSLY sick.
dannyfatkullin report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +1

Dollar Bills

Jan 02, 2009 16:20     

If only the employees came out, brought some music, and started waving dollar bills...
Streaminja report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +1

Stupid women.

Jan 02, 2009 18:25     

Read the TOS. They reserve the right to take down any photo that THEY deem inappropriate. It doesn't matter how anxious you are to show the world that you've got a calf sucking on your udder, it's their site, their rules. If someone complains that your funbags are indecent, and someone who works for the company decides that that person has a valid claim and removes your picture, you deal with it. Too bad Facebook didn't remove the whole lot of you self-righteous morons.

Qbert report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +3

Nothing about women's bodies is obscene

Jan 02, 2009 23:52     

Obscenity is in the heads of the viewers not in the bodies of women. The bodies of women are beautiful and they were created beautiful by design. The fact that many men cannot turn their eyes away and cannot help think dirty thoughts is the men's problem not the women's.
Bruce report abuse vote down vote up Votes: -4

Hypocritical prudery results in harming children

Jan 03, 2009 07:52     

This is it in a nutshell. Breast feeeding is the best possible way to feed a child. We've known this forever. Anything else is a definite 2nd best with all sorts of drawbacks when compared and disadvantages the child, again in all sorts of ways. .....and the same type who rave on about how disgusting discretely feeding a young child in public are probably the first to start shouting long and hard about them being so concerned & protective of young children. Go figure. Can you say hypocrites? (I wonder if it comes from a self-loathing jealousy and poor image of women bourne of a dim & distant memory of not being breast fed themselves? :lol: )

DaveBG report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +2

@DaveBG

Jan 03, 2009 11:30     

You, sir, are an idiot. I don't think TGDaily is the site for you...one more suited to your tastes would be www.breastfeedingwomenturnmeon.com OR www.iAMaWIERDO.com. Perv. Such nonsense does not belong in public places. As another poster mentioned: people don't want to see pictures of me deficating/urinating in the middle of the public areas. This argument has NOTHING to do with "Breast feeeding is the best possible way to feed a child" or being a "hypocrite." It has everything thing to do with decency. You have some need lash out at everyone's comments. Just calm down, dude.

Anon report abuse vote down vote up Votes: -3

OMG Anon, what you just said.

Jan 04, 2009 08:48     

You equate discreet public breast feeding (cos that is all anyone ever talked about) with public "deficating/urinating"!? You 'Sir' are tragically comical and a prime example of how ridiculous the 'anti' side are in this.
DaveBG report abuse vote down vote up Votes: -1

Facebook's Decision

Jan 04, 2009 10:55     

Women who want to breastfeed owe it to others to be discreet and respect their feelings. I support Facebook's decision. They provide a free service for those who choose to use it, but if you do use it, you agree to abide by its terms and conditions. They wisely decided not to allow photographs of bare breasts on their site, a decision I applaud as my kids use Facebook. Those who don't like this policy don't have to use Facebook - they are free to use another service.

Brutus report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +3

Re: Stupid women.

Jan 04, 2009 15:26     

@Qbert: You must have had some bad smelling breastmilk when you were a baby, to be so sour. What you don't realize is that with its popularity facebook became an example for many people... many many many. And that comes with the huge burdon of carrying responsibility and setting an example for ALL these people. If you have your own little private blog or forum, you can set any rules you want and piss anybody off, just like you want it. But when you become as popular as facebook, you HAVE the set an example for EVERYBODY in your target audience. Since facebook is targeting millions of people and has become one of the big players on the internet in terms of social media webiste, they are exposed to this public opinion and therefore must accept, that if they stand in its way, they risk of being a bad example for all Americans and therefore risk a failure in their business. In the end, it all comes down to the money. Rules are nice, but if you are depending on your visitors, you don't want to piss off a large opinionated group that might have the power to hurt your business by launching an uprising against you.

StudyMaster report abuse vote down vote up Votes: -2

Bare breasts!? LMAO

Jan 05, 2009 06:29     

Bare breasts?? What?? We're merely talking about the discreet feeding of a child and the (usually) very beautiful picture of a feeding mum and child. This is not about something close to the obvious adolescent neo-pole-dancing t!tty-jiggling fantasies of some we're being 'treated' to here. I don't know what breast feeding you ever saw done but in my experience unless your the dad there and know for sure it's happening you wouldn't even notice, there's so little to see. Nobody (but the weirdo perv element) has said anything about Facebook 'allowing' images of women showing their bare breasts. As I said before, at most you see the top curve of a woman's breast - in other-words it's probably much less than you see in any swimsuit/bikini picture, which they don't seem at all bothered about. The plain fact is that there is a small minority of people who get not only very strange about this topic but downright nasty & offensive*. *Witness the comparison with public urination and defecation in an earlier post here.

DaveBG report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +1

What about...

Jan 05, 2009 10:04     

Simple: - Breastfeeding is great; - Breastfeeding is nothing to be ashamed of; - The image shows no nudity (*); - Facebook can remove whatever THEY want, you can complain, they can listen or ignore you as they please. They will only change if they see it is beneficial to them (money, # of users, # of visits, ...). (*) - the bigger problem here is that lots of people consider nudity a problem, or wrong, or bad, and then act as zealots on that topic. There is nothing wrong/bad/etc about the human body. Look at it when you want to, ignore it the rest of the time. But we are taught to hide everything in this society, like... Lets tell youth to never have sex. Lets not even talk about sex. Lets make up stories about where babies come from. Lets... lie. Lets... pretend there is no problem. Lets... not change.

Q report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +2

@EVERYONE

Jan 05, 2009 10:11     

NOBODY wants to see your feed your ugly kids.. "But breast feeding is natural," yeah so is learning to masturbate, but you don't see me posting that on facebook. Everyone: 0 Dunpeal: 1
Dunpeal report abuse vote down vote up Votes: -2

What a stupid woman.

Jan 05, 2009 15:35     

Why would she want to publicly post that photo? Next she will want to post a photo of her and her hubby having sex because sex between married people is just as natural. Keep it in the privacy of your home sweetheart. You seem to be an exhibitionist. The internet is not The Family Album idiot!
Robin report abuse vote down vote up Votes: -2

@ Qbert

Jan 05, 2009 15:36     

You, like your comment ... is dumb and ignorant. Too bad the world didn't remove you self-righteous duch bag.
Dim Da Doo Da report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Anyone want to suck on my boobs?

Jan 05, 2009 16:24     

The same people that are throwing a fit now about Facebook, would throw another fit if I had a man sucking on my breast in front of their kids, even if I was lactating. I'd be feeding him, right? It's natural, so therefore, it's beautiful...that's what they all say about whipping out their breasts in public and shoving them into some kid's mouth.
Alisha report abuse vote down vote up Votes: -1

Nothing to get upset about

Jan 05, 2009 21:59     

First, I'd like to point out that calling other posters names, implying that they are stupid, etc., is juvenile and weakens your argument tremendously. Posting multiple times without others responding to your initial post also greatly weakens your argument. With that out of the way: 1) Facebook chooses to disallow these photos. So what? That's their prerogative. If you don't like it, use another site. No reason to get bent out of shape. 2) Breastfeeding is fine. There is nothing wrong with it. Breastfeeding in public is a different story. Other people do not want to look at you, and you should respectfully honor their wishes. Whether or not it is considered beautiful and natural is a moot point. If you really feel that strongly about it, go join a nudist colony. Again, don't get bent out of shape about it.

x report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +2

Nudity/Sec??

Jan 06, 2009 15:26     

Yall need to educate yourself on nudity! Nudity and Sex are NOT the same! go to the AANR site and study. Have a great day!
Merl report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +2

nothing wrong

Jan 09, 2009 02:01     

There is a difference in nudism or naturalism and pornography. Nudism believes in the freedom from the restrictions of clothing, Pornography is for sexual gratification. Naturist looks like you and I and come from all walks of life. You will find it to be a relaxing lifestyle that is free of the daily stress we all experience. Naturist groups like naturistspace.org are looking for people who are open minded and want to enjoy the company of others of a like mind.

carrie report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Unbelievable intolerance

Jan 17, 2009 16:12     

Is this true? Facebook is "prohibits breastfeeding mothers from uploading pictures of them feeding their children"? Unbelievable. Where has the tolerance and respect of human body disappeared?
Adrian report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Breastfeeders create your own site and make your own rules.

Jan 19, 2009 15:25     

If you don't like Facebooks rules on breastfeeding pictures, go make your own site and upload all the pictures you want to it. Don't join Facebook and then get pissed off because the site moderators deem you picture to be innapropriate. Remeber that box that you checked that said "By clicking Sign Up, you are indicating that you have read and agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy." Go read the terms of use and get back to me...

JB report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Please

Feb 11, 2009 18:13     

I can't believe how prudish you bastards are. Even if it is nudity so what. Is a kid going to explode if they see a boob? So I guess it is much better to teach a kid to be ashamed of his/her body so they can grow up to be a serial killer or rapist or have other twisted ideas about human sexuality. Good job morons.
boober report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

how dare someone want to post breastfeeding!!

Feb 17, 2009 05:57     

Congrats to facebook for deleting pictures of breastfeeding!How dare someone want to show a normal and natural act on there.Now there is more room on the website for underage drinking photos and photos of teenage drug use!Facebook is a joke!
Katrina report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Proud of you

Jun 30, 2009 07:47     

Always stand up for what you bleave in let no one stand in your way
Thewhatfk report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0