A few weeks ago my colleague wrote a post called Facebook Censored Me Again. When my sister’s gorgeous story and birth photo were censored from facebook, I couldn’t help but write my own post on the topic . I am so frustrated with our society’s viewpoint that women’s bodies are only acceptable for public viewing if it’s in a sexual context. People don’t bat an eye at cleavage or bums on sexy women in sexy poses. But take a women doing something completely biological and natural like birthing or breastfeeding, and even a glimpse of a thigh gets people feeling squeamish.
This says so much about how our culture really views women and their purpose. Women’s bodies are for more than sex. Maybe the people are afraid that one day the world will figure out how powerful women are. Or they are uncomfortable challenging something they were taught to believe about their own bodies their whole lives. But women’s bodies grow life, birth life, feed life. Women are strong, incredible, powerful, beautiful, important. And yes, they are sexy, too. But when all we allow to be displayed in our culture is sex, we devalue women and all of their importance. We leave send the message that their bodies are inappropriate, shameful and unimportant, unless they are sex objects.
A microcosm of this problem is the way facebook censors images of women. Over and over again photos of strippers, full-on-frontal nudity, big breasts and bums get reported on facebook and deemed APPROPRIATE, while images of birth or breastfeeding are deemed inappropriate, taken down, and the person who posted the image is threatened with being banned from facebook altogether. It’s pretty sad that women’s bodies are only seen to be acceptable for public viewing if it’s in a sexual context
Your birthing body is amazing. It is strong. It is powerful. It is important. It is beautiful. And so are you.
For a more thorough commentary on facebook censorship and more images to highlight this issue, check out Apple Blossom Families’ post on the subject. She is constantly censored for her incredible work that aims to educate women about biological childbirth and show them how powerful their bodies are. Please feel free to share and tell facebook that women’s bodies aren’t just for sex.
