It’s Official: Instagram Will Now Allow Breast-Feeding Pics From Non-Celebs
Instagram has a storied history of censoring photos of women that it deemed inappropriate, but breast cancer survivors and proud moms sharing bonding moments with their babies can now post freely without fear.
New guidelines released this week specifically state that such pictures do not fall under the category of nudity, which is still a big no-no.
“We don’t allow nudity on Instagram. This includes photos, videos, and some digitally created content that show sexual intercourse, genitals, and close-ups of fully nude buttocks. It also includes some photos of female nipples, but photos of post-mastectomy scarring and women actively breastfeeding are allowed,” read the updated guidelines.
The previous guidelines didn’t strictly outlaw nursing images but were left vague, allowing the site to take action on a case-by-case basis.
While celebrity moms such as Gisele Bündchen, Alyssa Milano, and Jaime King have all proudly posted breast-feeding images on Instagram—albeit with a hearty dose of criticism from commentators—moms without famous names have had their pictures removed or their accounts deleted. That sort of double standard has been grating on many moms, who have been posting under the hashtag #breastfeeding in droves to show that their act of nourishment is beautiful too—even if they don’t have glam squads touching them up like the stars do.
More than 400,000 photos showed up under the hashtag as of Sunday, with moms proudly promoting how they feed their children.
Women who have faced backlash from posting images of themselves feeding their child have said the pictures help encourage other women to do the same and serve as a sort of support system.
With recent studies indicating that the positive impact of breast-feeding could last long beyond a child’s developmental years, health officials and moms themselves are rallying behind new mothers and encouraging nursing over formula.
“The more breastfeeding is visible in our communities, the more we move beyond lip service to how it is ‘the best’ and accept it as normal and recognize women as mothers, as people,” Jessica Martin-Webber told All Parenting in 2013 after her account was disabled for such images.
Related stories on TakePart:
• Ballparks Are Stepping Up to the Plate to Serve Nursing Moms
• A Bit of Biblical Nudity Is Too Racy for Facebook
• Baby Formula Has Such a Bad Rap, Moms Are Buying Contaminated Breast Milk Online
Original article from TakePart
