Photographer Jade Beall recently posted one of her group portraits of
nude mothers breastfeeding to her Facebook page and the social
networking site took it down after men complained it was obscene.
"I have been photographing women for 15 years but it was a nude self-portrait I took of myself breastfeeding my son (when I was 80 pounds heavier), that sparked my desire to photograph and celebrate the beauty, 'flaws', shapes, &vulnerabilities of all mothers.
"This
photo received a lot of traction quickly. I received many private messages (all from men) telling me I should
remove the photo, though I'd posted the image with nipples and genital
areas blurred (because I have had images removed before by Facebook
where a woman's nipple was shown). Then someone noticed I had missed
blurring one nipple and the photo was again reported and finally
removed." She told Cosmopolitan. Continue...
While Beall (above) understands Facebook's anti-nipple policy, she sees this as a
larger overall issue.
"Do I think it's silly that men can have exposed nipples but women cannot as a rule for this platform? Sure," she says. "But that's a cultural thing, not simply a Facebook thing. I would love to post my nude breastfeeding mothers without blurring the nipples on Facebook, but what I would love most is for Americans to redefine their relationship to a woman's breasts and to praise and celebrate the nude, varying body shapes without having to label them 'disgusting' or 'unhealthy.'
Source: Cosmopolitan.com
