Dear Facebook: LIFE is not against community standards
{UPDATE: As of Jan 2, 2018, Facebook has both restored the video and my account! Amazing and encouraging news!}
Yesterday evening, as I was nursing my daughter, I got logged out of Facebook. As soon as it happened, I knew what it meant. I logged back in and was prompted to go through all of my photos and to select any with nudity.
Of course, there was none.
And then I received the news. The video I created for Birth Becomes Her in May...the video that went viral and was viewed over 100 million times...the video that had been shared by Cosmopolitan, PopSugar, ErgoBaby, Midwifery Today, Huffington Post...the video that depicted people of all backgrounds giving birth to their babies...the video that contained NO EXPLICIT nudity...was gone. Removed for violating community standards. And I was effectively banned from Facebook because of it.
And just in case you were wondering...these are the community standards.
Adult Nudity & Sexual Activity
We remove photographs of people displaying genitals or focusing in on fully exposed buttocks. We also restrict some images of female breasts if they include the nipple, but our intent is to allow images that are shared for medical or health purposes. We also allow photos of women actively engaged in breastfeeding or showing breasts with post-mastectomy scarring. We also allow photographs of paintings, sculptures, and other art that depicts nude figures. Restrictions on the display of sexual activity also apply to digitally created content unless the content is posted for educational, humorous, or satirical purposes. Explicit images of sexual intercourse are prohibited. Descriptions of sexual acts that go into vivid detail may also be removed.
For some reason, after this video was viewed and shared by millions of people around the world for over six months, facebook decided that these moments were no longer worth seeing. Even though these moments DO, in fact, follow the nudity standards above.
I don't understand this at all. But I'm saddened and quite honestly scared that the important work we're doing will be stifled and hidden behind false statements like "community."
Because there is nothing more antithetical to community than the restriction and censorship of birth, family and life.
Facebook, we are far more than usernames and passwords. We are living and breathing human beings, with real bodies, that were ALL born from real women. Have we reached a point in our obsession with apps and usernames that we've forgotten that behind our pixelated screens are real bodies that breathe and beat and love and birth and eventually die?
Facebook, LIFE should never be against your community standards.
As one of the world's leading birth photographers, I believe that seeing and sharing real images of birth are important. They bring life and light into dark corners and places. They offer people around the world the opportunity to learn about their bodies and the process of reproduction.
I have followers from small villages where anatomy textbooks and What to Expect When You Are Expecting are not available. I have young women who message me and say they no longer feel as scared anymore. Seeing real images of women giving birth provides countless people with knowledge, courage, and hope. And yet you are coming closer and closer to removing this LIFE-GIVING gift. Your platform can do so much good in this world...
There are many images and words on facebook that are full of hate and violence. There are countless depictions of women that make young girls feel inferior, ugly, or lost. Can you please spend more time hunting down these accounts? Can you join with the good work happening here instead of censoring it?
I'm waiting. I'm ready. I'm scared but hopeful. Please rise to the occasion, facebook. The world needs this.
Monet Nicole Moutrie
Co-founder of Birth Becomes Her