Maybe it IS an accident. Most of us know Facebook operated in such a way that requires people to report photographs and other material before they are deleted. I know for certain someone reported my own images before they were removed. When we point out that our breastfeeding images are censored before sexualized images for example this is true. I think most of us are aware though that this has less to do with Facebook actually seeking out breastfeeding images and more to do with the public's discomfort with breastfeeding. Regardless of whether it's an accident or not and whether or not the reinstate our accounts... the fact remains that the way Facebook operates is flawed, and it is damaging women's systems of support. Just the fact that someone can report something anonymously means that the perpetrator faces no consequences at all for their actions.
So why don't we go somewhere else to hold support groups for women? Because we shouldn't have to. As Jessica of The Leaky Boob states in her article The Problem Continues:
"Having an active presence on Facebook does something else: normalize breastfeeding. Shunning breastfeeding moms to “discreet” (read: obscure) corners of the internet does nothing to encourage accepting breastfeeding as a normal and beneficial piece of family life."
Certainly it's tempting to leave. It's not nice to feel unwanted anywhere, and it's not nice to feel like you're tempting fate every time you post something as risque as feeding an infant. However this problem is more than a "lactivist" issue. The issue is about how we as a society feel about our own bodies.
I'm sure we're all used to seeing underwear ads at the bus stop, perfume ads involving women in lingerie... yet the ad that was censored recently from the Calgary Transit lines was an image of a newborn baby.
Breastfeeding images, pregnancy photos, childbirth and newborn babies all serve to remind us that we're human. These women also come in all shapes and sizes, they don't fit the beauty standard we're used to seeing. I think if anything we need to see more images of normal women's breasts, for example, to remind ourselves what women look like without plastic surgery and airbrushing. I think it's important to remember who we are- vulnerable, miraculous and highly imperfect, in order to completely value ourselves.