PLEASE NOTE: THIS IS A "VIRTUAL" EVENT AND DOES NOT REQUIRE ATTENDANCE AT A LOCATION...
i.e.: There is no reason to not attend! read on...
Facebook continues to classify breastfeeding photos as obscene content. They continue to arbitrarily remove these photos from member albums and profiles, accompanied by warnings of account termination. This is highly discriminatory and an affront to nursing mothers everywhere. In protest of this, Mothers International Lactation Campaign (M.I.L.C.) has planned a virtual day of protest.
Not only is human lactation responsible for the very survival of our species, it is in no way a sexually explicit, lewd or despicable act. It is also protected by law in most countries, including specifically the state where Facebook is headquartered in the USA.
In protest to the discriminatory and unjust policy of Facebook administration classifying breastfeeding images as obscene content, on December 27th, 2008 M.I.L.C. is asking all of you to change your profile picture for one day, to one which includes an image of a nursing mom.
This could be a picture of you or someone you know nursing a child, it could be a painting or image of a sculpture of a breastfeeding woman, it could also be a photo or image of any nursing mammal....We ask that you include the status line of "Hey Facebook, breastfeeding is not obscene!"
In addition to this 'virtual nurse-in', there will be other events planned around the globe. Please check this page often for regular updates and added information. We will also be including images that you can use for your profile picture on December 27th.
Babies everywhere thank you for your support!!!!!
Article from the Palo Alto Daily Newspaper:
BY WILL OREMUS
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Facebook is accustomed to parents complain*ing about racy photographs posted on its site, but now some mothers are seething over revealing pictures it refuses to allow on its pages.
A group called the Mothers International Lactation Campaign, or MILC, is planning a “nurse-in” outside the social network’s Palo Alto offices to protest its removal of user-posted images that show women breastfeeding their babies. The demonstration, planned for Dec. 27, will also have a virtual component, as thousands of people across the Web make nursing photos their main profile picture.
The protesters say breastfeeding is not ob*scene, and Facebook’s removal of their pictures sends the wrong message to mothers everywhere. AFacebook spokesman on Tuesday clarified that the site does allow breastfeeding photos as long as they don’t show a fully exposed breast.
MILC organizer Heather Farley of Provo, Utah, said she was surprised last month when Face-
book took down two photos of her nursing her 6*month-old daughter, one of which was her profile picture.
“Where I live, I can breast-feed in public or pri*vate, and there are laws that say it’s not obscene or lewd or indecent,” said Farley, 23. “If I can do it in public, why can’t I do it on Facebook?”
Censoring such images, she said, reinforces stig*mas that discourage mothers from a healthy, natural practice. Angry at the site, but not wanting to lose her online friend network by unsubscribing, she took ac*tion by joining like-minded mothers in a Facebook *based petition called “Hey, Facebook, breast-feeding is not obscene!”
As of Tuesday, the group had more than 53,000 members.
Farley isn’t sure how many will turn out for the nurse-in, planned for 11 a.m. on Dec. 27 at 156 Uni*versityAve., but she’s hoping for at least 20. She said more than 2,000 have already signed up for the vir*tual protest.
Facebook had no comment on the planned dem*onstration.