Monday, April 08, 2013

Facebook and Breastfeeding ~ What's all the hoopla?

What is the old saying?  If you don't like what's on television, change the channel.  

The same holds true for Facebook.  And also, Facebook should get a grip on reality.

Last week, Facebook pulled Christie Kemp's Breastfeeding Mama Talk  Facebook page because it violated their policy on nudity. Seriously?

Kristy Kemp created the breastfeeding support page on Facebook called "Breastfeeding/Mama Talk” and the page began to help other mothers. Kemp had her son three years ago and felt the need to stop breastfeeding him after 3 months because she felt embarrassed.

"When I started the page, women kept coming to me saying how embarrassed they were, how ashamed they were to breastfeed in public," Kemp said. "And I realized it was a bigger issue than what I even imagined."
She's posted many breastfeeding photos but one in particular got the attention of Facebook. The photo was taken down because the social media site said it "violated" policy. Kemp was locked out for 24 hours. After the lock out  was over, she posted another photo. It showed a mom breastfeeding her baby and five year old at the same time. It was also removed. This time, she was subjected to a three day lock out by Facebook.  Kemp used the media against Facebook and outed them.  Since then, Facebook allowed her back on her site and has issued an apology.
At 5000+ "likes", I don't think that Kemp is on the wrong track.  Quite the opposite.  I do believe that Facebook's reaction is a narrative on our society's view of breastfeeding: it is porn rather than a method of feeding a baby. Are we so small minded that we cannot see that food is being given to a hungry child when breastfeeding is shown?  
Perhaps instead of attacking mothers who already feel embarrassed and ostracized for breastfeeding in private and public, they should keep their focus on their software updates, which in my humble opinion, illustrates an epic fail.  Their latest redo doesn't load properly on a computer and often when one tries to "view more stories", one is taken back to the top of the page to stories already seen on the newsfeed.
Stick to something you know, Facebook.  Leave mothers who are feeding their children alone.

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