What’s the deal with Facebook hating so hard lately, taking down photos revealing realities of women’s issues? This past week Facebook banned Hildur Lilliendahl Viggósdóttir, an Icelandic women’s rights activist, for reposting sexist comments she found publicly posted on the site. Now we’re hearing that Facebook punished a woman for posting a photo of herself breastfeeding her daughter.
Gina Crosley-Corcoran is the creator of the feminist motherhood blog, The Feminist Breeder, and former member of the ‘90’s grunge band, Veruca Salt. A few days ago, Crosley-Corcoran posted a photo to TFB’s Facebook page of her own her 18-month old daughter, Jolene, breastfeeding and holding a piece of bacon. The description read, “And now, you’ve seen everything: Jolene swiped bacon off my plate and tried to nurse and eat at the same time. When I got bit, I told her she had to choose. She chose bacon.”
According to Crosley-Corcoran, the photo received 1500 likes, 40 people shared the photo on their page, and a few hundred left comments about how much they loved the photo. And understandably – it’s adorable. Most people had no problem with it. The Feminist Breeder, after all, is a big advocate of normalizing breastfeeding in public settings.
One commenter, however, did not like the photo and took her criticism of it WAY too far. Liz Hanson-Collins commented on it, “I never liked the photo, I reported the photo. And those are the kids that grow up to become sex offenders.”
COME AGAIN? Children who are breastfed grow up to be SEX OFFENDERS? I don’t know what psych books you’ve been reading, honey. But my mother breastfed all of her children, and none of us are sex offenders. As is the case for MOST children who were breastfed, because there is NO PROVEN CORRELATION between being breastfed and sexual assault.
Crosley-Corcoran had a lot to say on the matter stating, “What kind of SICKO insists that my 18-month old daughter is going to grow up to be a ‘sex offender’ because she’s breastfed?!?!? That goes far beyond human decency, I’m shocked that even Facebook could produce such a vile troll.”
Nonetheless, this crazy commenter got her way. Facebook took the photo down and banned The Feminist Breeder’s page for three days. But, why?
According to the Statements of Rights and Responsibility of Facebook, the photo was not violated any policy, since no nipple was showing, and therefore there was no nudity. Did Facebook really suspend an account and take down a photo because one person reported the image? Or was it actually a motion against public displays of breastfeeding?
Now that it’s back on Facebook, Crosley-Corcoran is running a “72-Hour Campaign to Normalize Breastfeeding on Facebook,” in which The Feminist Breeder’s page is flooded with photos of mothers breastfeeding their children.
Check out The Feminist Breeder and their Facebook page to follow the campaign.
Photos via The Feminist Breeder, Washington Times.
