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September 7, 2007

Breast Isn’t Best On Facebook

Duncan Riley

110 comments »

facebook1.jpgA dispute is erupting between breast feeding activists (known as “lactivists”) and Facebook over pictures of breast feeding on Facebook.

Facebook has taken down pictures of users breast feeding, and has even gone as far as banning users completely on the basis that the pictures constitute “obscene content.” Suffice to say the lactivists aren’t the least bit happy.

According to a SMH report, lactivists complained that their images were removed despite the fact they contained no nipple, questioning the logic of the Facebook obscenity accusations: “Where does the feeding stop and the boob begin?? A peek of nipple?” Where indeed.

Facebook spokeswoman Meredith Chin said Facebook does not prevent lactivists from uploading photos of themselves breastfeeding, but went on to say “Photos containing an exposed breast do violate our Terms and are removed”. Now I might be male so I have no recent first hand experience but I’m confused as to how breast feeding cannot include breasts?

The lactivists are calling for supporters to join their Facebook group Hey, Facebook, breastfeeding is not obscene!, which currently has over 7000 members.

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This entry was posted on Friday, September 7th, 2007 at 12:45 am and is filed under Company & Product Profiles. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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Comments

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  1. ben

    September 7th, 2007 at 12:53 am

    you MIGHT be male?

  2. Mike Abundo

    September 7th, 2007 at 12:57 am

    Damn, breastbook.com is taken…

  3. Duncan Riley

    September 7th, 2007 at 12:59 am

    ben, trust me I am :-) the phrase is a reflection on the fact that I’m not female and hence not really an expert on breast feeding.

  4. lawrence

    September 7th, 2007 at 1:03 am

    lol - easy, you can show breastfeeding shots - but don’t show the full cusp…just the baby’s mouth around the nipple.

    you don’t exactly need the entire breast flopping over the baby’s face to breast feed

  5. BanjoPlayingHamster

    September 7th, 2007 at 1:05 am

    American prudishness conquers all, apparently. Services should have a statement of culture just like their statements of privacy based upon which people can sign up knowing what to expect.

    Europe points and laughs at the Yanks and their facebook!

  6. David

    September 7th, 2007 at 1:07 am

    Soooo… techcrunch being renamed facebookcrunch.com sometime soon? Seems to be a lot of facebook news which I see elsewhere, while there does not seem to be much …

    From your about page:
    “TechCrunch, founded on June 11, 2005, is a weblog dedicated to obsessively profiling and reviewing new Internet products and companies.”

    Not sure if I should focus on the word “new” or “obsessively”.

    A little less facebook would be nice… but I guess you need to keep the links and bait working ;)

    Dave

  7. David

    September 7th, 2007 at 1:08 am

    By the way… the last comment was a ‘joke’ before anyone gets all annoyed :)

    Thankies!
    Dave
    http://www.freebet1.com

  8. Strange Society

    September 7th, 2007 at 1:09 am

    Some people find breast feed as baby’s bl*wjob.
    Some women like breastfeeding and others don’t.

    First you have
    Rebublicans and democrates
    Seperation church and state.
    Animal rights
    lobster rights
    Abortion
    treehugger
    snake oil business man

    Conflict of interest drives people screw ball.

  9. Duncan Riley

    September 7th, 2007 at 1:21 am

    lawrence (comment 3)
    that was my initial thought as well but if you’re not showing the breast, just the baby, wouldn’t that make it a shot of just a baby, as opposed to a baby breast feeding?

  10. Raja

    September 7th, 2007 at 1:25 am

    I dont understand why breast feeding is such an issue ! Here in india, you can see lots of women feeding their kids in public, and noone minds that .. I just liked the analysis /legalase around such a childish thing:)

  11. iHero

    September 7th, 2007 at 1:27 am

    Not the post I expected this early in the morning.

    But http://www.breastcrunch.com is available…….

  12. lawrence

    September 7th, 2007 at 1:32 am

    lol - have you’ve been living in a cave?

    use a breastfeeding bra that’ll safely open a hole around the areola exposing only the nipple, for the baby to suck on

    that’ll please the conservatives at facebook, as exposed to breastfeeding the traditional way where you flop open a bare breast with all that cleavage exposed

  13. Alex

    September 7th, 2007 at 1:33 am

    This is the result of having a 22 year old running a company. Yes, he may be brilliant or just lucky. But he is 22 years old.
    His words used were probably something like “hey guys, that is gross stuff. What is that lady doing to that kid. Get that off the site I don’t want anyone saying we are encouraging porn”.

  14. Debbie Davies

    September 7th, 2007 at 1:37 am

    Duncan,

    I’m mother of three, breastfed them all and never bought a single packet of dried whatever. The point is, it should never be suggested that breastfeeding has anything to do sex.

    Debbie

  15. War with Apes

    September 7th, 2007 at 1:46 am

    Breastfeeding was invented Europe… Centuries ago, you have conflict and wars. For example, Irish once believe breastfeeding should be legalize. Great Britain say no. They start putting catholic churches over Protestants site.
    They start burning breastfeeders and whores.

    Breastfeed was pass on to family genes. They came to America and debating Breastfeeding should be legalize. Others complaint and filed lawsuit…

  16. MainStreetReporter

    September 7th, 2007 at 1:52 am

    Breastfeeding: natural
    Posting pics of your exposed dispenser: not natural

    BTW … lactivists.net is available. Only .com and .org are taken

  17. Sam

    September 7th, 2007 at 1:54 am

    Depends on the breast whether I’d deem it obscene. They do have to draw the line, though. I mean, naturist’s claim its totally ‘natural’ to wander around naked but I doubt they’d allow those kind of pictures.

    I’m not really sure why these womem want to post breast feeing pictures on Facebook, anyway?

  18. Duncan Riley

    September 7th, 2007 at 1:54 am

    Alex, lol :-)
    Debbie: I’m certainly not suggesting it is

  19. Cam

    September 7th, 2007 at 1:55 am

    At last! Conclusive evidence Mark Zuckerberg is a real boob…

  20. Ross

    September 7th, 2007 at 1:58 am

    Could you try and fit the word “lactivist” in your post a few more times? I’m actually a member of that group, and not because I consider myself a “lactivist”, I consider myself a rational human being.

    And as for #12, Lawrence, why on earth should any woman have to buy a “breastfeeding bra” just to appease some moron who says things like “flop open a bare breast with all that cleavage exposed”.

    There are genuinely offensive groups on Facebook that objectify women (see “The Boob Crew”) yet something as completely non-sexual as breastfeeding is banned.

  21. Wouter Lievens

    September 7th, 2007 at 2:00 am

    I bet if somebody puts a picture up of a decapitated body with blood all over it, they have no problem with it. But OMG TITTIES.

    The American prudeness is what’s obscene.

  22. Avinash

    September 7th, 2007 at 2:03 am

    Uproar over nothing. There are so many other facebook groups that exist which show women in sexually suggestive postures. Noone seems to be complaining about them.

  23. brent

    September 7th, 2007 at 2:24 am

    myself i have no problems that a woman wants to show her breasts, with or without baby. the main reason why women where bras to cover up is for support not to hide them. yes most guys like the look of breasts but many females like to see a guy with out his shirt. by covering up for the majority of females has just heightened the sexual nature of not covering up. we wouldnt have this discussion if was more common for females to wear no top if they desired.
    regarding breastfeeding, every child should have right to a feed any, at any time, not determined if they in a public place or not.
    a photo of a child feeding should be seen as a wonderful bonding between mother and child. its amazing moment that a mother can feed her child, and the emotion, love towards each other makes it a wonderful photo.

  24. Isaac

    September 7th, 2007 at 2:38 am

    Is this the same facebook.com that has thousands of pictures of underage high school kids drinking when their parents are out of town on the same page as a 120×600 Target ad or Verizon ad?

    Not sure why the lactivists (lol on the name) want the pics on facebook, but aren’t we are a time in our development as an industry where facebook might take that opportunity to display a symilac ad?

  25. bena roberts

    September 7th, 2007 at 2:48 am

    Dear me - I might be male and i am not sure how you can breast feed without showing the breast!!! (you have me holding my sides laughing)

    In England we have guidelines that the nipple is the boob and the bits around it are flesh and not really classified as boob - at least that is for adverts and advertising anyway.

    I am also a mother of two and I breastfed my babies. But had a terrible time in London. I was having dinner at the Harvester and my son started screaming - I don’t believe in dummies so I whipped out my boob and breastfed. The restaurant stood still. One man shouted - OMG thats disgusting you are putting me off my food.
    Then we were asked to leave.
    Can you believe it? This is London and this is Facebook (social networking supremo) and they feel they have to ban breastfeeding pictures. Its pathetic - breast is best ands its the most natural for you child and … I could go on.
    … but’ll save all of you my ranting.

  26. William Ahouma

    September 7th, 2007 at 3:35 am

    @Mike Abundo (comment #2), you’re a true web entrepreneur!!!
    Let’s start breastfeed20.com lol!

    Here in Côte d’Ivoire, Breastfeeding is the most natural thing and has nothing sexual in it. People don’t even pay attention to it and you won’t have people telling their kids “Don’t Look at it, Brandon!”.

  27. dude

    September 7th, 2007 at 4:15 am

    I would sign up for Facebook just to join this group, but… I don’t want to support Facebook at all.

    Breastfeeding is one of the most natural things humans do, and, society is f***ed up.

    THE END.

  28. David

    September 7th, 2007 at 4:32 am

    Well, it appears Facebook has some opinions about which groups you should and shouldn’t join.

    On the basis that I joined ‘Hey, Facebook, breastfeeding is not obscene!’, my account was suspended. I didn’t post photos of my breasts (I’m a man), made no comments, simply joined the group.

    And my account was suspended. Facebook will simply hang itself if it continues with this kind of behaviour and good riddance.

  29. Vic

    September 7th, 2007 at 5:17 am

    Last I checked, people “willingly joined” Facebook and they have to play by their rules. If they wanted to exclude people who like Country music and remove photos of Garth Brooks, they could.

    If you have a problem with the service DON’T JOIN. I’m sure there is a “BreastfeedingBook.com” out there, that would be perfect for these mothers.

    New social networks pop-up every ten minutes, go find one that YOU like and fits with your lifestyle.

    This nonsense of complaining every time someone is excluded, or limited in their actions, is absurd. People looking for reasons to complain and protest, to draw attention to their organization, is just lame.

  30. Dempsey

    September 7th, 2007 at 5:22 am

    Requisite Seinfeld quote:

    Elaine: Jerry, at what point would you say sex has taken place?

    Jerry: I’d say when the nipple makes it’s first appearance.

  31. jc

    September 7th, 2007 at 5:32 am

    Let me get this straight: FaceCrook steals the idea and source code behind the whole site and they are worried about lactating breasts? They have their priorities in line and that is the type of company I want to be associated with. Yaaaayyyy FACECROOK.

  32. Kris

    September 7th, 2007 at 5:49 am

    I am really surprised this article even stayed close to on topic.

  33. Jason

    September 7th, 2007 at 5:53 am

    Facebook does something wrong, so let’s all continue to use Facebook. That’ll show ‘em!

    Hypocrites.

  34. Jochen

    September 7th, 2007 at 6:01 am

    The real question is “Why would someone upload a picture of herself breast feeding **TO FACEBOOK** ??” It is a pretty intimate thing after all, and the only reason i see to do it in public is, well, a hungry baby crying. Even if you want to share this experience with the whole world, put it on your flickr or your personal website or whatever.
    Stuff like that is either posted to Facebook because you want some attention, a controversy and blog posts just like this one. Or you think breast feeding defines your truly unique personality and you want the whole world to know. Facebook should delete the posts in either case.

  35. Paul J

    September 7th, 2007 at 6:11 am

    I guess women should cover themselves in veils as well, just in case too much flesh is exposed. That would be a step forward right?

    In the Canadian province of Ontario women have the legal right to walk around topless if they choose. And we all know this is not even an issue in Europe.

    If Facebook is supposed to be your social network of Family and Friends, you should be allowed to share the important moments in your life on there (as long as it falls within the laws of the location the servers are hosted in of course…)

  36. Link

    September 7th, 2007 at 6:11 am

    Your link to facebook doesn’t go anywhere…

  37. Alex Linhares

    September 7th, 2007 at 6:26 am

    “They do have to draw the line, though.”

    No, actually, Facebook does not have to draw the line. It is a big mistake for Facebook to do this, because now people will be “testing” the system to its limits.

    What Facebook should do is CROWDSOURCE. Let the users draw the line. That is web2.0 is all about, right? If Facebook starts to preach to people who they have to be, they’ll go down in the long run, no matter how strong they might be now.

    CROWDSOURCE THIS THING. Just put a button: “Do you find this image offensive?”, then let people vote and let people take down the offensive ones. Show the votes as they occur. Make it transparent.

    I think I heard it somewhere: “don’t fight the internet”?

    http://www.capyblanca.com

  38. Saagar

    September 7th, 2007 at 6:26 am

    Does Techcrunch have a theme to stick to anymore to which it is trying or is it becoming a place for facebook activities and discussion board of facebook contentions !!

  39. A Huge Facebook Fan

    September 7th, 2007 at 6:30 am

    People are somply overreacting to what ios just a digital image. It6 isn’tr as though Facebook is running a paedophile ring..

  40. A Huge Facebook Fan

    September 7th, 2007 at 6:31 am

    I think that people are overreacting to what is simply a digital image. It isn’t as though Facebook is running a paedophile ring.

  41. Dominic

    September 7th, 2007 at 6:31 am

    My My, let’s assume many college girls post pics of a wild weekend party. Tits hanging everywhere. Zuck likes THAT. But the breastfeeding is PORN? Zuck knows most of the males who join facebook, no matter what age, are there trying to hook up for a cheap lay.

    As for the continued stories about Facebook, everyone is complaining. Ya think anyone at TC listens? Hell no. This is all about trying to garner an offer for TC.

  42. Steve Ballmer

    September 7th, 2007 at 6:51 am

    I’ll take some!

    http://fakesteveballmer.blogspot.com

  43. Mark Poole

    September 7th, 2007 at 7:39 am

    Think about it: Who the hell wants to see your kid sucking on your nipple?

  44. Mark S

    September 7th, 2007 at 7:44 am

    This is so ridiculous. Americans have to lighten up - what’s wrong with a breast and why is that pornographic?

  45. Marshall Kirkpatrick

    September 7th, 2007 at 7:52 am

    LiveJournal dealt with almost the exact same issue more than a year ago http://snipurl.com/1qfgj

  46. Erica

    September 7th, 2007 at 8:11 am

    If this is the case, a friend of mine who posted a very explicit picture of his rather excited genitalia should DEFINITELY be banned…it ended up on my news feed TWICE.

    I have nothing against breast feeding groups, although perhaps pictures on them should be accessible only to approved members of the group. Can this be done? I have no idea.

  47. Sprezzatura

    September 7th, 2007 at 8:16 am

    It’s nutty that people are posting breastfeeding pictures. Those women must be suffering from the long-term effects of sleep deprivation from their screaming kids.

    Portraying yourself as a milk machine is hardly flattering. You have a brain as well as boobs. Use them both.

  48. fake Chris Matthews

    September 7th, 2007 at 8:24 am

    lactivists ….. HA!

  49. Chris

    September 7th, 2007 at 8:33 am

    This is an April fools joke…right? Oh shit its September!

  50. Tom

    September 7th, 2007 at 8:38 am

    The same thing happened with Livejournal (but through userpics). I don’t understand why anyone would want to show the whole internet their breastfeeding abilities in the first place. Sure, breast feed in public all you want but does it really matter if you can’t post a picture of yourself doing it?

    Come on, who the hell wants to see it anyway?

  51. vozome

    September 7th, 2007 at 8:47 am

    is there an anti-lactivist group on FB? I’d create an account to join them.
    See, I’m totally cool with breastfeeding (my kids have been BF’d). It’s just that activism thing I can’t admit. Isn’t that a personal choice? One you shouldn’t impose on folks you know, let alone folks you don’t know?
    porn is not an issue.
    Let’s assume I’m a mother and I can’t lactate. That’s a very very painful thing to go through. Or I want a child and I can’t. etc, etc. in all those cases I would be annoyed/disturbed at the sight of a woman breastfeeding.

    Breastfeeding is a private matter, it’s probably one of the most intimate things ever. Plus, it explicitly violates the TOS of the FB. and still those bigots argue and complain.

  52. Hemanth

    September 7th, 2007 at 9:09 am

    Same idea as of Tom. Why women want to show their private moments with the whole world. I am supporter for breast feeding, but why this show off?

    ———————————-
    http://www.techtalkz.com

  53. chris

    September 7th, 2007 at 9:47 am

    Pissing is natural too but no one wants to see that either. Is it really that bad to remove the pictures? wow.

  54. DP81

    September 7th, 2007 at 10:21 am

    Ridiculous. Of course breast feeding doesnt belong. It is a private act and is obscene content for a clean Web site. I dont get why any mother would want to be photographed doing this either. This is absurd and I feel people are just looking for a fight.

    Yes I am American and yes I am male. It doesnt belong on Facebook. That is what MySpace is for.

  55. TDavid

    September 7th, 2007 at 10:28 am

    There is PETA and then there are lactivists. Neither are organizations to get on your bad side.

  56. David

    September 7th, 2007 at 10:29 am

    Michael Jordan was breastfed for 3 years.
    Michael Jackson was never breastfed.

    Thus, our society should do everything in it’s power to encourage breastfeeding.

  57. Marie

    September 7th, 2007 at 10:54 am

    vozome- let’s ban ALL baby pictures for those poor moms who can’t have kids! I miscarried in July so I don’t wanna see anyone pregnant either.

    chris- you can’t compare breastfeeding to elimination. You can, however, compare breastfeeding to you munching on fries in the food court. Changing a baby’s diaper on a food table would be like an adult eliminating in public, fyi.

    DP81- MySpace is deleting breastfeeding photos as well, but leaving up the pics of 15yr old girls bent over in thongs without a problem. It’s not private or obscene, it’s a normal activity for the first 2 years of a (should be every) person’s life. You, and those like you, need to get over your “women=sex” mentality, at least in public eh?

    It’s ridiculous. Women’s bodies used for sex = ok. Women using their bodies for non-sex = gross. People need to get over their own body-issues and freaky sexual issues. Some men find feet sexually stimulating, but do I have to wear combat boots and never take a picture of myself barefoot? What about hair? I have waist-length hair which elicit the same response from a select few, and I can tell you all sorts of stories about THOSE freaks. Doesn’t mean I’m going to (or expect all women to) wear a hijab.

    Hands are used in sex more than breasts, but we don’t all wear gloves! That is because they are multi-functional. But I gotta tell you, people need to pay attention to the fact that *so are breasts*.

    Personally, I find someone propping up a bottle to feed their baby in a stroller while they shop or eat or otherwise ignore said baby to be disgusting and negligent. I don’t like seeing photos of it either.

  58. Velioncho

    September 7th, 2007 at 11:16 am

    there are two seperate issues we are talking about
    1. actual breastfeeding
    2,posting pic of breastfeeding on facebook.

    #1 no one denies that it is wrong.My wife breastfed our daughter. Everybody does it.

    #2. This puzzles me. okay you breastfeed but why do you have to post it on facebook? Post your baby’s regular pics or mom&baby playing etc. But why do you post breastfeeding picture. What is the need? And why do you get upset if the picture is removed.

    Looks funny to me. may be just me.

  59. Nemrut

    September 7th, 2007 at 11:18 am

    wow..we’re in teh 21st century yet still enforcing the puritan ethic. It’s ok to have pictures of women wearing thong bikinis with 99% of their ass exposed and photos of college girls in wet t-shirts. But show a mother lovingly nursing a child…God forbid!

    I bet a few of the facebook staff are ‘closet’ creationists.’

  60. Misty

    September 7th, 2007 at 11:20 am

    I think people are WAY too uptight about breastfeeding women. I’ve been judge by many people from day one since my son was born almost 3 years ago. YES I still breast feed. If I wanna have picture of one of the most precious moments a woman can possible experience on my own personal webpage and people look at my pictures then that’s their own problem. Breast feeding are what GOD made the breast for. Just like all other species that nurse there offsprings. Bottles are not how god intended it to be, it was promoted by idiots that causes these trends of people who think breastfeeding pictures on what ever website our offensive and should be band. To those people I might add.. if you only knew what breastfeeding could’ve done for you own IQ you might’ve been smart enough to realize it’s the BEST thing a mother can possible give to their child in this life and that the long last benefits will last a life time. So I’m very proud of breastfeeding. Its a hard job feeding a baby and even harder when your the one whose producing the milk.

  61. Velioncho

    September 7th, 2007 at 11:32 am

    #60:
    No body denies that.That is the way to go.

    but why does the picture needs to be posted on the internet?

  62. Matt

    September 7th, 2007 at 11:34 am

    There’s nothing wrong with a breast, but on the other hand, there’s nothing wrong with a penis either. I understand the reasoning why women need to be able to expose their breasts in public in the course of breast-feeding children but there’s no need to do it on Facebook any more than there is a need to show someone masturbating on Facebook. That is an equally natural act with equally natural body parts.

    How many of the lactivists are willing to back pictures of guys tossing one off? My guess is that few of them will because they will choose to view breast-feeding as somehow “beautiful” while masturbation is “gross” or “obscene.” Of course, it’s all in the eye of the beholder. I don’t really want to see either myself.

    –matt

  63. Paul Graham

    September 7th, 2007 at 11:38 am

    You know, like, I don’t really care about this in the sense that it offends me, but it seems this battle is being fought on every website. Explain to me one thing though, just one thing, this is all:

    Why do you want to post a picture of your kid sucking on your titty?

    Perhaps I’m missing something here.

  64. Velioncho

    September 7th, 2007 at 11:50 am

    “your kid sucking on your titty?”

    use right words, you did the same when you were kid.

  65. Paul Graham

    September 7th, 2007 at 11:54 am

    beside the point, i want to know why you would want to post the picture. that is the mystery.

  66. Counsel

    September 7th, 2007 at 11:54 am

    While breastfeeding in public may not be “right” or “wrong,” it may be “right” or “wrong” for a particular person. Be respectful of opinions that may differ from yours because you may want the same respect returned to you at some point when you may find something “wrong” that others are doing that they find just “right.”

    Respect for people’s opinions goes both ways–if you don’t respect them, you don’t deserve respect either…

  67. Sam Donaldson

    September 7th, 2007 at 12:17 pm

    Where has the technology news gone?!

  68. torquemada

    September 7th, 2007 at 12:19 pm

    if these chicks wanna show their milkbags during the few months that they’re worth showing off to the world, let ‘em. our lowest-common-denominator cultural sensitivities are just perpetuating a puritanical and unhealthy obsession with making sexuality and the human body bad.

  69. Ruthe

    September 7th, 2007 at 12:25 pm

    To answer the question, “why would anyone want to post a picture of their infant breastfeeding?” It’s simple. To normalize it. People, get used to it; babies need breastmilk, and they need it whenever and wherever they want. So many people have a hang-up about breastfeeding because it’s so hush-hush, so SCARY because we never see it anymore. But it’s best for babies. If public breastfeeding is normalized and accepted, so many more babies might reap the benefits.
    For instance, I’m not one to go around with my underwear hanging out, but for a while there it was perfectly acceptable to go around with thongs and boxers showing over your low-riders and bra straps peeking out if your tank. It was normalized through repeated exposure. If breastfeeding in public is taboo because people think it is just too sexy, then let’s get them used to it. Breastfeeding babies is a million times more worthwhile than showing off your Victoria’s secret purchase or your Calvin Kleins.
    To the woman who thinks it’s rude because someone who wanted to breastfeed might feel pain upon seeing a picture of another woman succeeding at it: Grow up. What if I needed a wheelchair to get around and I was offended at the sight of people walking around normally in front of me? What kind of an idiot expects others to stop doing NORMAL things around them just in case they get neurotic and unreasonable about it?

  70. aguytryingtofinishhisspaghetti

    September 7th, 2007 at 12:27 pm

    I am all for people b-effing their kids, but wtf? Why do they have to be so in-your-face about it? Just feed the kid, do it quitely, and understand that most people are going to get a little unnerved when a middle aged woman pulls out a middle aged boob. Sorry, that is just the way it is.

  71. DP81

    September 7th, 2007 at 12:41 pm

    Marie…Im not sure how you leaped from pictures of breast feeding is obscene to women=sex, but let me clarify. On MySpace just about anything goes. Facebook on the other hand is actually usesful for networking with friends and not just a venue to plaster pictures most would prefer not to view(no I dont think “pics of 15yr old girls bent over in thongs” is appropriate but the venue for that crud is MySpace, not Facebook).

    Breast feeding is natural, Im all for it. However it is not appropriate for people to stare at a woman while she breat feeds…is this not essentially what a picture of the act would be?

  72. Paul Graham

    September 7th, 2007 at 1:09 pm

    @Ruthe

    Good points. I just question the idea of posting on the internets is going to help normalize anything. I mean, look, I am not comparing the two at all, but I see lots of pictures of dudes in fursuits on the internet all the time and it’s done very little to normalize that particular activity.

    Personally, I have no problem whatsoever with women breastfeeding in public and I think that women definitely should not be marginalized for making choices that are clearly in the best interests in the child just because someone doesn’t want their 8 year old to accidentally see a nipple in the mall.

    However, there’s also a difference between actually doing it as an action, which is totally okay and besides that absolutely necessary, and posting a picture of your child suckling on Facebook, which simply strikes me as a bit crude and exhibitionist.

  73. rp

    September 7th, 2007 at 1:19 pm

    what a puritain-douchebag-attitude facebook is doing.
    This will never happened in europe, nobody cares about nipple’s shot, it’s life.

  74. Mikey

    September 7th, 2007 at 2:09 pm

    David (comment number 6) alot happens on facebook thats why sites like TechCrunch.com and my own website http://www.WhichWebsite.com cant help but report, afterall it is one of the most popular social networking sites on the web.

    We have just published an article about a Paedophile in the UK who was sentenced to 3 years in the for sexually grooming a 15 year old girl on Facebook, read it here http://www.whichwebsite.com/20.....bsite.html

  75. =Jason

    September 7th, 2007 at 2:12 pm

    Just because Zuckerberg will never get laid and has never seen tits, doesnt mean he should ban showing them on Facebook. What a pussy

  76. Word Hugger

    September 7th, 2007 at 2:12 pm

    Does boobs on facebook really have to do with technology?

  77. Markus

    September 7th, 2007 at 2:28 pm

    Ugh, more one-sided activists.

    Yes, breastfeeding is a natural act. So what?

    Natural != public.

    Sex is natural, urinating and defecating are natural, masturbating is natural.

    If your baby is hungry, go to a restroom or somewhere else suitable and feed it.

  78. David Mackey

    September 7th, 2007 at 4:35 pm

    Fascinating decision on Facebook’s part, despite how on feels on the matter either way.

  79. Noah

    September 7th, 2007 at 4:37 pm

    I’m sure they would all be welcomed with open arms at the only social network for boobs: myfreeimplants.com

  80. Dominic

    September 7th, 2007 at 8:41 pm

    Hey, Zuck f*cks himself everytime he opens his mouth. Does that count as getting laid? That’s all he can get, unless you figure Mike may be pimping the chicks from one of his partys.

  81. Ruthe

    September 7th, 2007 at 9:39 pm

    Paul G; the purpose of posting breastfeeding pics in a public venue like Facebook? To show that breastfeeding is normal ANYWHERE, even on facebook/ myspace etc. The breastfeeding exhibitionists are few and far between. Exhibitionism is a somewhat selfish act, deciding to exclusively breastfeed and promote breastfeeding to others is a selfless act; the two personality traits don’t often coincide in the same person.

  82. Ruthe

    September 7th, 2007 at 9:47 pm

    Markus;
    public breastfeeding equals public eating. It does not equal a sexual act or an act of eliminating waste in public. It is not public self gratification. Breasts and breastmilk have an ultimate purpose; they are there, in all actuality, to provide nourishment to your offspring, not to titilate men; but that is a nice secondary purpose, of course.
    There are many, many adults who have, from time to time, offended me with their public eating habits, but I have not yet asked another adult who is eating in a manner I find off-putting to eat under a blanket covering his head, or to take it to another location. I just move on. It’s the polite, civilized way to behave.

  83. The Mommy Blawger

    September 7th, 2007 at 10:16 pm

    “If your baby is hungry, go to a restroom or somewhere else suitable and feed it.”

    You have GOT to be kidding.

    Since when is it suitable for anyone, much less an infant with an immature immune system, to eat in a restroom?

  84. Markus

    September 8th, 2007 at 1:09 am

    I said somewhere suitable. For people with common sense, that would indicate that I was referring to… somewhere suitable. Many family restaurants for example have special changing room type places to handle such needs.

    And how is a restroom any less clean than a public restaurant?

    But I guess taking other people’s considerations into account is far too difficult for the me-first mommies of this country.

  85. Olivier

    September 8th, 2007 at 1:12 am

    Geeez, only in america :-) 83 and counting message about breastfeeding and who’s wrong who’s right ….
    Well at least while wasting peoples minds on stupidity, war still going, people still dying but hey ! a freaking piece of boob THAT the deal :-)

    Please no offense, it just my 5 cents view from another continent, another culture.

    Peace

  86. Chris

    September 8th, 2007 at 1:23 am

    Total agreement with Ruthe.

    It’s quite simple why these women are being “in your face” about breastfeeding.

    There are women who would like to feed their babies in public. These women believe they should be free to nurture their baby as they go about their daily lives (heaven forfend!). When they attempt to do so, they get bad experiences from people who are intolerant of that activity. Instead of shutting themselves and their infants in restrooms, or resorting to baby formula, they decide to do something about it by joining the public discourse. They get vocal.

    All of these slippery-slope faux arguments about “men in fur suits” or “OMG! This is like allowing public masturbation!” are specious. The majority of cultures in the majority of human history tolerated public breastfeeding. A whole generation of Americans were raised with the incorrect ‘medical’ knowledge that breastfeeding was unhealthy and improper.

    The fact is that it was once (and still is in most places) proper for women to breastfeed in public. Now (in America) it is not. Women are trying to reclaim a freedom that was once theirs. To do so, they have to be ‘in your face’ about it. People become comfortable and acquainted with things they see frequently. So ‘lactivists’ post pictures of themselves breastfeeding.

    Honestly, I was raised in an environment where public breastfeeding was considered improper. There’s still a part of me that’s uncomfortable when I see it. You know what? I deal. Because by suspending my own issues (which I recognize are not ‘normal’ or ‘natural’) I contribute–in a small way–to improving our cultural environment. And I approve of people being ‘in your face’ about it. Because ‘in your face’ is how you bring new ideas to people and challenge their preconceptions. ‘In your face’ is how you keep the world young and learning rather than old and calcified. Which is why this thread is relevant to the tech industry–because why are we all here working on technology, if not to challenge ourselves and others to create something new and challenging?

  87. Ed

    September 8th, 2007 at 2:31 am

    I’m all for breastfeeding, all my kids were breast fed. But, why the pictures? Is there a need for pictures? Please don’t tell me they’re instructional, I don’t buy that.

  88. raqqash

    September 8th, 2007 at 3:38 am

    Oh my, prudishness conquers the world. This world is really going mad. Especially when on tv and the net is just full and choking of tits and asses and legs exposed for commercial purpose, and what? People complains about breast feeding. What about complaing about people dying because of war, because of unsafe job place, because of accidents, because of pollution?
    No of course that would be too uncomfortable. Sex issues are so much more fashionable.

    Oh well.

  89. Lauren

    September 8th, 2007 at 4:12 am

    Chris!! Wow - thanks for your comment! Obviously you are one of those rare people who actually think about things that make them uncomfortable before they react and I appreciate that a lot.
    I am also kind of uncomfortable with breastfeeding in public… but since having a baby who doesn’t tolerate formula well, I have had to learn to deal with it.
    I HATE doing it in public because of the looks I get (and I just don’t like exposing my boobs in public either!) but sometimes there is just no choice - it’s cruel (and inconsiderate) to let a hungry baby scream, and most moms don’t have the luxury of staying at home all day even if we did want to (which most probably don’t).
    It makes me feel a lot better about it being around people who understand this… hopefully as we evolve, more people will think of it the way you do.
    It’s really kind of silly to make such a big deal about it. If more people actually put some thought into why it bugs them, we’d stop feeling so uncomfortable about such a natural thing.
    thanks!

  90. Dominic

    September 8th, 2007 at 4:55 am

    ENOUGH !. can you do a Digg like bury on this idiot story?

    Geez

  91. A Huge Facebook Fan

    September 8th, 2007 at 8:53 am

    War still going, people still dying. That doesn’t matter a jot Olivier. Breastfeeding is more topical for us than unknown Iraqees.

  92. Andray

    September 8th, 2007 at 1:36 pm

    Our society is degrading at an unprecedented pace: we don’t mind watching naked women and men appearing in all media promoting all kinds of products, and we tolerate violence as a genre, but we do mind watching babies eat.

  93. Andray

    September 8th, 2007 at 1:37 pm

    Join the discussion on Skinship:
    http://skinship.typepad.com/sk.....babie.html

  94. The Mommy Blawger

    September 8th, 2007 at 2:30 pm

    “What about complaining about people dying because of war, because of unsafe job place, because of accidents, because of pollution?”

    According to UNICEF, if infants worldwide were fed only mother’s milk for their first six months, at least 1.3 million lives a year would be saved. Babies in the US who are breastfed are far less likely to die or be injured from ANY CAUSE, including disease, accident, and abuse. Not to mention that a woman’s chances of getting breast cancer and other reproductive cancers are greatly reduced when she breastfeeds. That’s a lot of people NOT dying because lactivists are passionate about this issue and trying to re-normalize breastfeeding in our culture.

    It’s not about your right not to be offended. It’s not even about a woman’s right to breastfeed. It’s about a baby’s right to receive biologically appropriate nutrition.

  95. MIKE

    September 8th, 2007 at 2:33 pm

    Fact is none of the kids over at Facebook are old enough to be parents and don’t understand how beautiful and vital breastfeeding is for babies.

    As they all become rich and can afford to settle down and have families of their own the realities of this act will hit them.

    I do appreciate their stance on adult oriented crap but this sounds like they just don’t understand the subject.

    Nice post.

  96. Steve Ballmer

    September 8th, 2007 at 8:27 pm

    ummmmm gooood!

    http://fakesteveballmer.blogspot.com

  97. ImageBlox : Free Image Hosting

    September 9th, 2007 at 12:15 am

    Vow amazing .. maximum no of posts possible on this topic.

  98. Enzo

    September 9th, 2007 at 10:27 am

    And the lactivists attack Facebook:
    http://www.facebook.com/photo......2517126532

  99. Breastfeeding Mummy

    September 9th, 2007 at 6:24 pm

    I have 2 girls - a 2 1/2 yo and an almost 4 month old. I breastfed my first and am currently breastfeeding my second. I have no problem with women breastfeeding in public - after all, I do it myself - but I do have a problem when some of them feel that they need to expose their whole breast or chest while they are doing it. There are obviously people who feel uncomfortable with the breastfeeding in public issue and really, there’s no hassle with just throwing a cloth nappy/diaper or a wrap over one’s shoulder while feeding baby. Feeding in public can be done discretely (with or without the wrap) and I think that we can all be sensitive to other people’s feelings and opinions.

  100. bapakeghozan

    September 9th, 2007 at 7:01 pm

    ooooh my God.

    With you see on latch on Mr. facebook?

    very bad condition

    keep breastfeeding

    warm regards,
    bapakeghozan

  101. Laurel Papworth

    September 9th, 2007 at 8:05 pm

    The issue is around two foci and the lack of tools to manage them: identity and core values. Identity says we don’t know if the group is genuinely women breastfeeding or men with a nipple fetish or kids stuffing around a la National Geographic fotos being passed around. We don’t know if the “beautiful baby/child foto” groups online are genuinely doting parents or paedophiles sharing pictures. No nudity goes a long way to removing this issue. And brings us to core values. While californians might love posting up still shots from Californication, artwork by Jeff Koons, breastfeeding by mothers in the name of entertainment, art and education, social networks online do not share those forward thinking values. I mean the members, not the hosts. And if you want to protect your members, institute a ‘no nudity, no exception policy’. It’s not prudity, it’s recognition of the limitations of technology and protection.
    I am also reluctant to believe that out of 30 million global members, 8000 of whom are in breastfeeding groups of which there are around 150, this member Karen was picked on for no reason. If a moderator wants to get power-trippy, there’s plenty of people in the bondage (BDSM) groups to send nasty emails to. The email said something about “Additionally, we do not allow users to send threatening, obscene, and harassing messages. Unsolicited messages will also not be tolerated. ” Is there something we don’t know? This situation has nothing to do with beastfeeding and everything to do with establishing appropriate guidelines and managing behaviour in online communities. By the way, some paedophile parties have legal standing in some countries. If you allow breastfeeding women or nudist beach parties, or whatever to push a political agenda, are you going to allow paedophiles too? Can you say no, because one fits your core values (or you don’t care either way) but not the other? Only a fool would open that door. No nudity, no exceptions. (Glad they took that banner ad down. :))

  102. zaddeo

    September 12th, 2007 at 12:46 pm

    FACEBOOK IS FULL OF PORN. just type in breast, F—, or anything else. Why would lactivists want their breast feeding instructions posted here????

  103. Smokering

    September 13th, 2007 at 5:07 pm

    To the ‘why would anyone want to see a pic of a kid breastfeeding’ posters: Well, newborns breastfeed a LOT. Breastfeeding a new baby can be literally a fulltime–8 hours plus a day–job. Given that people usually post pics of their babies to show friends and family what their lives are like, doesn’t it make sense to represent what their baby does for 8 hours a day? Photos of the baby sleeping get kinda old if that’s all you show. Babies tend to look adorable breastfeeding, and it’s often the few times they have their eyes open during the newborn stage. One might ask: Who wants to see a picture of your 12-year-old eating? Answer: someone who cares about your family. For the same reason, an absent grandparent/friend/family member is likely to want to see your newborn eating–because it’s an important part of his life!

    I don’t buy that lactivists post pics of themselves breastfeeding simply in order to normalise it. That may be one reason for a select few, but in general women post breastfeeding pics for the same reason they post any other baby pic–this is what my baby did today, isn’t she cute, look how fast she’s growing. The exact same reasons a mother might post pics of her baby being bottlefed!

    As for Facebook, I recognise it’s ‘allowed’ to make as many ridiculous rules as it likes… voluntary joining, etc. That doesn’t alter the fact that the rule is stupid. Breastfeeding is not obscene. Breasts are not sexual in a breastfeeding context; they are the best way to give optimal nutrition, heightened immunity and easily-absorbed vitamins to your child. Get over it, people!

  104. Jacqueline

    September 14th, 2007 at 8:13 am

    What a lot of you don’t seem to understand is that many of the photos which were taken down didn’t show the breast AT ALL. To many people, it would have simply looked like a mother holding her baby who was facing her chest. (OMG THAT’S SO WRONG!)
    So I find a picture of myself with my baby and post it and that’s obscene? Sorry, what?

  105. Zac Echola

    September 15th, 2007 at 11:16 pm

    Many of you people are idiots and apparently unable to read beyond this post. Or think critically.

    The photos were posted in a support group for breastfeeding. Of course posting photos of women breastfeeding is going to make sense in a Facebook group about breastfeeding.

    Just like posting sexualized photos of women in the Facebook group “aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa sex sex sex boobs boobs boobs tits and ass we are horny teenagers” makes sense in the context of the group.

    Facebook is wrong on so many levels here.

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