A few days ago I posted a collection of photos on my personal Facebook page titled ‘Houston Food and Art – a perfect weekend getaway!’ A few hours later I received a notification that one of the photos ‘violated the Facebook Community Standards’ which has rules on nudity, sexual and violent content.
The photo is of a sculpture by Australian artist, Ron Mueck, that is on exhibition at the Houston Fine Arts Museum. ‘Mother and Child’ depicts a newborn on its mother’s belly- and yes, there is a breast!
Facebook led me through a series of hoops, chastising me for posting the photo and essentially making me agree to be more careful before allowing me to access the rest of my account. At the end of the process I was asked to rate my experience and I expressed my distaste for this censorship – sadly I have not received a response, nor has the photo been restored.
Since then, I have heard about Facebook removing several photos of women breastfeeding. It’s 2017- breasts are EVERYWHERE and usually portrayed in an unrealistic and sexualized way. How is it we have created a culture in which posed sexualized photos are deemed ok, but photos of real women are considered offensive? I typed ‘boobs’ into my Facebook search and got a plethora of highly-sexualized images of topless women. There are even several pages devoted to the subject and all the photos privacy settings are public.
It is tempting to go into a rant regarding FBs guidelines however the real issue here is that if Facebook is a platform which is based on user content and these images are being removed- what does that say about the values and morality of the users? Plus, Facebook has the feature that if someone is offended by something I post they can opt not to see my stuff in the future- so if you are the person who ‘reported’ this photo, please feel free to unfollow me.
From an art perspective, one could even use Magritte’s argument and say that ‘Ceci n’est pas un sein’ (This is not a breast)- it is the representation of a breast made out of acrylic, fiberglass and silicone. And while the museum offered a warning of nudity and graphic images at the entrance to the exhibition, I saw several children there with their parents. I think good art should make you feel and do you know what I felt as I saw the detailed and raw depictions of the human bodies in this exhibition? I felt inspired and good about my own human body. The sculptures are a far healthier portrayal than the images that come at us everyday from the culture we usually digest; advertising, porn, movies and television. Personally, I am exhausted by the false-perfection we have been dishing up as a culture.
The Ron Mueck sculpture ‘mother and child’ depicts the most basic of human experiences; the moment of birth. If you’re reading this- you’ve been there! How can something depicting this universal and authentic experience be censored? It’s been over 25 years since Demi Moore bravely graced the cover of Vanity Fair magazine when she was seven months pregnant. It was a bold move for a Hollywood star considering they weren’t even allowed to use the word ‘pregnant’ in ‘I Love Lucy’ in the 1950s.
How far have we really evolved?
Jane Bauer 
I agree with your very articulate article. On a similar thread I watched a preview for the old 1970’s show “Three’s Company” today and saw the blond actress portrayed in baby doll PJ’s with a ruffled panty. Her hair in pigtails and realized she was not only sexualized but also “little girl-ized.” It offended me as a mature woman who as a young adult grew up watching women portrayed as inept creatures needing permission and direction from their keepers. “Oh, Ricky?”
I absorbed this stuff without questioning the underlying current of men being in charge and women being domb. Fortunately my mother was a trail blazer and owned property in her own name without her husbands signature in the Province of Quebec. My father was a fair man in terms of most of his values and both were educated and well read.
Only now on reaching the age of seventy in very good, vibrant health have I been able to shed the shadows of my social upbringing, men being the wiser, etc. etc.
If anything, I almost see us as being the wiser sex. We have been using words in place of violence for a very long time.
Although I would hesitate to make any judgement without research.
Your article touched a nerve. Thanks Jane.
Love Aunt Nan xoxo
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Great article Jane, all forms of the human body should be celebrated and through continued censorship we almost believe there is something wrong in these natural acts. Really interesting to hear your views.
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Thanks for the excellent article Jane! You might be interested to know that tomorrow in Montreal, boobs will be out…https://www.mtlblog.com/whats-happening/montreal-women-will-be-going-topless-in-public-this-weekend
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Not just breasts, also vaginas. I’m active in human rights in childbirth, and sometimes post articles from researcher-midwifes such as Sara Wickham or Rachel Reed to inform other women about something or other. Sometimes a photo of a birth is depicted, graphically. Also this Facebook censors, despite its own rules that birth education is allowed. And nothing I could do to change it. It literally said something like: you can protest, but our decision stands. It felt like living in China or something. I want to leave Facebook, but it’s a great place to inform women of human rights in childbirth so I’m torn.
(by the way I came to your site because I read your story on modern love. I was curious how the story ended. But I couldn’t find anything, besides other nice stories and advices and lists.)
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Thanks so much! Yes, Facebook is awful. I use it mostly for work- as a business owner, it is the most effective way to communicate with my customers. Terrible about the censorship! Keep up your good work! Gender inequality is rampant. Yes, I have yet to write the follow-up story.
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