Did you know that a nipple exposed in a painting or photo on Facebook is prohibited but not a “lactating” nipple on a fountain or exposed nipple on a statue? I find that very interesting.

If statues and paintings are both considered fine art, why are they on some sort of different screening or qualification level on Facebook? Why did they draw the line at one and not the other?

I just saw this Facebook photo album, Breastfeeding Sculpture by Beautiful Breastfeeding, full of statues of nursing women and lactating fountains. None of these images were banned! Not one!

The woman behind Beautiful Breastfeeding was suspended for 30 days for posting a breastfeeding painting of a woman that had a nipple exposed. Oh my! Someone painted breasts being used for their purpose? And the painting was over a hundred years old by a (now) widely accepted artist, Cezanne, but Facebook deemed it obscene? Shocking! (I kid.)

Beautiful Breastfeeding fought back. She posted a photo, this lovely lactating fountain, and commented on their censorship:

“I dedicate this post to the beauty of breastfeeding in art, that should never be censored, and remain free for all to see…”

And because not everyone has a Facebook account, I’ve posted it where everyone can truly see.

Where is this lovely fountain, you ask? I believe it is The Neptune Fountain (Fontana di Nettuno), located in Bologna, Italy, in Piazza del Nettuna, next to Piazza Maggiore, and is one of it’s most famous landmarks. (More info, angles, and lactating statues on Dr. Momma.)

What I love about this statue is that not only is it beautiful, it is educational. If you were anything like me the first time your milk came in with your first child, you had no idea that milk would come out that way. Why did I think it would only dribble out of one hole per nipple?? I guess I hadn’t seen this statue! Milk sprays in all directions. Hopefully most of it makes it into your baby’s mouth. Sharing the image of this fountain and other lactating fountains serves the global community. I sincerely hope Facebook doesn’t decide to ban these types of images too.

What do you think about Facebook’s ban on paintings of breastfeeding nipples but not on statues and fountains? Shouldn’t they allow both or neither?

One last thing, for some reason, fighting back by spraying Facebook in the face with “milk” reminded me of the news story of the woman spraying a cop in the face with her breast milk. It isn’t the same thing of course, but still.