Friday, February 27, 2015

Are Brelfies the Next Internet Trend?

If you are on Facebook, you have seen them.  And Facebook is trying to ban them or delete them.

What are they?  They are “brelfies”.

Brelfies are breastfeeding selfies.  Photos of mothers and babies, breastfeeding are the latest
trend and it isn’t only celebrities such as Pink that are doing it.  Regular people, just like you and I, are taking photos of them breastfeeding.  Facebook, trying to enforce their nudity policy is trying to delete these photos, but most moms think Facebook is wrong to include breastfeeding photos as nudity and delete them.  It is estimated that one in five mothers of breastfeeding babies have already posted a “brelfie”.  Celebrities such as Alyssa Milano, Gwen Stefani and Pink even post brelfies.

On Wednesday February 25, 2015, Twitter lit up after a woman stated that those who post brelfies are just “showing off.”  However, the parade of mothers who posted in response said the things a lot of us say: “It is natural for babies to eat at the breast.” “Breastfeeding should not be sexualized.”  Some photos were calming and beautiful, but some mothers posted photos that were comical and clearly jabbing at the woman who attempted to pass judgment. 

You can Google the word brelfie or even check out the #Brelfie hashtag on Twitter and Instagram.  There are even brelfie pin on pinterest.
It is my hope that brelfies help to make breastfeeding more mainstream.  And why not?  Isn’t that what breasts are intended to do?  Feed babies?  If brelfies do change the way people “look” at breasts and breastfeeding, this brelfie movement will demonstrate the power of the consumer. 


Professionals can advocate in many different ways for change to occur, but it is (and always has been) the consumer who has the power.

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