Nude Breastfeeding Photo Is Removed From Facebook - But Should It Have Been?

Sadly, the #freethenipple debate shows no signs of stopping because breastfeeding photos are still being removed from social media sites.

The most recent picture in question, which features seven women holding and breastfeeding their children, was removed from Facebook after one user spotted ONE nipple showing – despite the photographer Photoshopping out all of the others.

Jade Beall, who’s made a name for herself photographing real mums’ bodies, blurred out all of the nipples in the photo before uploading it to Facebook (to comply with the site’s guidelines) but accidently missed one of them – which someone picked up on.

“This photo received a lot of traction quickly,” Beall told Cosmopolitan.com. “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 reported and finally removed.”

The issue of breastfeeding photos posted to social media sites has been ongoing for some time now, with Facebook stating that it’s fine to upload them – so long as no nipple is visible.

But Beall thinks there are some double standards with this rule. “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’.”

Beall often posts her photos on her Facebook page and website where she hopes to empower women to show off their bodies – whatever shape and size they are.

“I have been photographing women for 15 years,” says Beall. “But it was a nude self-portrait I took of myself breastfeeding my soon (when I was 80 pounds heavier) that sparked my desire to photograph and celebrate the beauty, ‘flaws’, shapes and vulnerabilities of all mothers.”

Her snapshots show that not all mums snap back to their pre-baby shape after giving birth and celebrates the female for what it is.

[New Mummy Blog; Pregnancy Is Making My Body Unrecognisable]

[The Celebrity Breastfeeding Photos You Absolutely Have To See]

Do you think it’s right for Facebook to remove breastfeeding photos like this one? Let us know in the comments.