There's a new lactivist online.
Lena Dunham may have kept new mom friend Sarah Sophie Flicker's breast covered up with a tasteful daisy to abide by Instagram's no nudity rules, but the GIRLS creator made it clear that she didn't like having to do it.
My @sarahsophief feeding the brand new Dusty. I made the flower crown and she added the flower censor. Wish she didn't have to cuz the nipple is dope. Instagram, get down with the nipple.
Flicker, a performer and director with The Citizens Band, shared the photo on her own feed with a similar sentiment: "Found the best breast feeding get up. @lindseythornburg dress. Crown & photo by the talented @lenadunham. Flower censor by me due to instagram's super lame blocking of the breast feeding ladies."
Instagram's community standards do indeed say nudity is grounds for removal, but the photo sharing site has told The Huffington Post that breastfeeding photos are allowed. In June, after online breastfeeding community The Leaky Boob's account was suspended, they actually apologized for what they called an error. "When our team processes reports, we occasionally make a mistake," a representative told HuffPost Parents at the time.
Stiill, moms and activists who seek to normalize breastfeeding in public and online have become increasingly frustrated with social media platforms removing breastfeeding images. Jessica Martin-Weber who runs The Leaky Boob, started a Facebook group called "Instagram, stop discriminating against breastfeeding mothers and babies" that is "dedicated to educating and inspiring Instagram to stop discriminating against breastfeeding mothers and babies by no longer deleting images of breastfeeding or disabling accounts that post them and to provide for breastfeeding images in their [terms of use]." Fans of Amy Woodruff (aka Naked Yoga Breastfeeding Mom) started a #savedaughterofthesun campaign after her account was disabled, though Woodruff's case was not as clear cut. She told HuffPost that her photos were in line with Instagram's rules, and a representative from Instagram could not comment on specifics there.
Most recently, Ashlee Wells Jackson who created the viral "4th Trimester Bodies Project" -- a photo series highlighting what real moms' bodies look like after childbirth called for changes. After, her personal Instagram account was once deactivated, and she was blocked from posting photos on Facebook for 30 days, she created petition on Change.org. It read, in part:
Women, mothers, are often treated as if breastfeeding, the most natural way of sustaining human life, is something foreign or taboo. We are often told that our real bodies with stretchmarks and scars are not beautiful when they should in fact be celebrated for created and sustaining life. By removing these photos, Facebook and Instagram are contributing to this societal injustice.
Dunham, as her fans well know, is very comfortable with on-camera nakedness. Perhaps lending her famous voice to the chorus of women seeking justice when it comes to breastfeeding will help bring about real change.
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