Breastfeeding mothers have had quite a few issues when it comes to their posts on social media; they are often removed online simply because they want to share an intimate moment between them and their babies.
Now, photographer Elle Wickens from Bleu Mountains adds her name into the long lists of people whose social media account has been deactivated for posting breastfeeding-related content.
Photo credit: Elle Wickens / The Daily Mail
Specializing on capturing photos of the “power of birth” as well as photos of breastfeeding mothers, Elle’s Instagram account is called Earth Babes, and when it was taken down, Elle was not pleased.
“Having my page deactivated has shaken not only my love for Instagram but my faith in community,” she wrote on Instagram. “Why must women struggle to be seen, why can’t you see us for what we are, powerful, wild, loving humans. Why is it okay for our bodies to be seen as a sexual object but not for what we truly are.”
Photo credit: Elle Wickens / The Daily Mail
According to Daily Mail, her account was deactivated for almost 24 hours before it was revived. In fact, Ellie had contacted Instagram twice to have her account brought back, but her requests seemed to have fallen on deaf ears.
Instagram only took action when Elle shared to her followers and other photographers what had happened. Thanks to their barrage of e-mails to Instagram’s policy manager, the social media finally brought it back.
“She said Instagram told her in an email her account being removed was an ‘accident’ and she was not given a reason as to why her page was closed,” said the Daily Mail report. “Instead, she received a generic message from the photo sharing sight to say her page was not compliant with their community guidelines.”
Photo credit: Elle Wickens / The Daily Mail
Instagram does not allow nudity, but “photos of post-mastectomy scarring and women actively breastfeeding are allowed.”
While she acknowledged that it was Instagram who deactivated her account, a large part of that decision had to do with the people who use the app.
“I don’t think it was fully Instagram,” she said. “I think it was more the people that are using Instagram. It’s an opinion we need to discuss and change.”
