Is this picture really so offensive that it deserves to get you kicked off social media?
Heather Bays is a mum and a professional photographer so she takes thousands of photos of her family. She shares all her favourites on her Instagram account and they are truly beautiful.
But when she posted this photo she was banned:
Heather was breastfeeding her two-year-old daughter Audrey and shared the photo with her followers. The Canadian mum explained that her daughter is in the process of weaning, so moments like this are very special to her.
Her account was shutdown on Mother's Day weekend.
"I posted because my daughter is 20 months old, so she's weaning right now," she told CTV News. "These days are very sentimental."
Moments after posting the photo an anonymous commenter posted the comment 'not cool'. Heather responded by commenting 'so cool'. Then, the anonymous commenter reported her image as being inappropriate, resulting in her account being banned.
Heather decided to fight back. She found out there had been seven complaints about the photo and couldn't believe that that many people still saw breastfeeding as something dirty and shameful, instead of natural and beautiful. She looked up the site's social guidelines and felt her photo more than met them. They stated that as long as the photos didn't show a 'fully exposed breast' then it would be okay.
She asked the site to reinstate her account and when she heard nothing back, took her fight to social media. She started by calling for help on Facebook and then started a new Instagram account called @Save_HeatherBays.
Heather generated so much support from Canadian media and social media followers that Instagram contacted her to let her know they would reinstate her account.
While Heather is happy to have her account back, she says the fight isn't over. Instagram has deleted all images of her daughter's bare torso, saying they are classified as child pornography. She wrote on Facebook, "Lots of people are debating and that is a good thing. Things will change!"
"Women are still fighting for equality, and we're very slowly getting there. We will continue to fight. And that's why this world is so afraid of women!"
Do you think Instagram should have banned her account? What do you think of breastfeeding photos on social media?
CLICK THROUGH to see celebrities' breast-feeding pics:
Kourtney Kardashian breastfeeding Alicia Silverstone. Angelina Jolie. Selma Blair. Gisele Bundchen. Pink. Salma Hayek.
