Parents Post Breastfeeding Photos Online, Deemed Obscene

Express Yourself Mums is like most other parenting Facebook pages: users post pictures of their children and share mothering experiences. Facebook is about sharing, except of when those photos show girls pretending to breastfeed their babies, says The Guardian.

The social network pulled the breastfeeding advocacy group's page after several moms put photos of their daughters "nursing" their dolls. Facebook deemed them "obscene." The company has since apologized and reinstated the page, with photos. But it has caused quite a stir over whether breastfeeding images constitute "obscenity" and what is and isn't acceptable to show publicly. Here is a Q-and-A about that debate.

Why did Facebook pull a breastfeeding support group website?

Facebook has a policy that no image may be uploaded that shows nudity, obscenity, including specifically the nipple or areola of a woman's breast. The mom-uploaded pictures were flagged by a user and found to show nudity. "Express Yourself Mums" co-owners told The Guardian that short of one mother who expressed concern about parents showing images of children online, the response was overwhelmingly positive.

Do the photos constitute child pornography or exploitation?

The Facebook pictures showed little girls with their shirts raised, holding dolls to their chests. According to Missing Kids, it is illegal to disseminate or display online any picture of children in which genitalia, including breasts, are exposed. The U.S. Department of Justice's "Citizen's Guide to U.S. Child Exploitation Laws" elaborates that the image need not show the child in a sexual act. Any images of a child unclothed that are displayed online, whether by a parent or someone else, may be constitute child pornography. In 2008, TMZ reported that photos of mom Jamie Lynn Spears, then 17, breastfeeding her baby leaked to the internet. Officials launched a child pornography investigation because circulating images of a minor's breast even for non-sexual purposes is illegal.

Is breastfeeding considered "public indecency"?

The question of whether breastfeeding images constitute obscenity stems from the issue of whether mothers should breastfeed in public or if it is considered "public indecency." As of May, 2011, the National Council of State Legislatures says 28 states exempt breastfeeding from public indecency laws. Forty-five states and two territories have specific laws allowing mothers to breastfeed in public places, including privately owned venues and businesses. Twenty-four states have laws supporting breastfeeding in the workplace. Idaho, Michigan, South Dakota, Virginia and West Virginia do not have laws about breastfeeding, and Idaho and West Virginia do not exempt it from public indecency laws. In Virginia, mothers may only breastfeed on publicly-owned lands.

Marilisa Kinney Sachteleben writes about parenting from 23 years raising four children and 25 years teaching K-8, special needs, adult education and homeschool.