Breastfeeding Protest planned at facebook Headquarters in London 6th Feb 2012 10:30am Covent Garden

Media – Event Notice Feb 3, 2012

World wide protests to call on Facebook to leave breastfeeding photos alone.

Breastfeeding Protest planned at facebook Headquarters in London.

- Daily image deletions and account suspensions continue

- Facebook has removed 257,000 supporters from the official petition group

- Protests planned at Facebook offices around the globe

In response to Facebook’s continued removal of breastfeeding images from the social networking site, women in the UK are planning to visit Facebook’s London office to deliver their messages in person. The breastfeeding protest will be held at 42 Earlham St, Covent Garden at 10.30am on the 6th of February.

Global Event Coordinator and local mum Lynsey Bartram says “We need to stand up to this discrimination, and show Facebook why SEEING breastfeeding is important”.

Like many other Facebook users, Cambridge Mum Ellie Cook had a breastfeeding photo removed by Facebook, and others have had their accounts deactivated. She said “I woke up on the fifth day after my baby was born to find a message claiming my photograph of me feeding my newborn was a “violation”. A blank silhouette sat in it’s place and it represented how I felt. It was like being kicked in the stomach. What should have been a perfect time was comprimised by being made to feel dirty and obscene.” 

Yesterday Facebook filed its long-anticipated IPO valuing the company at about $100B. Facebook’s advertising revenues last year topped $3B. Facebook offers advertisers the ability to carefully target audiences. The so-called “influential mum” demographic is highly sought after.

British women of the influential mum demographic are planning to flex their muscles by attending this breastfeeding protest and are telling their friends and family on Facebook that they want Facebook to stop harassing breastfeeding mothers.

More than fifty women are expected to attend the event, to tell the company’s office, “We want Facebook to simply leave breastfeeding images alone.”

London Event Page – http://www.facebook.com/events/329431500425148/?ref=ts

Local contact

Denise Sumpter

07886218399

dsumpt01@mail.bbk.ac.uk

——————————

Emma Kwasnica

604-215-0433

emma.kwasnica@gmail.com

Jodine Chase

780-938-5208

jchase@mediaworks.com

@jodinechase

Worldwide protest event notice:

http://www.jodinesworld.blogspot.com.au/2012/01/media-event-notice-world-wide-protests.html or  http://bit.ly/Ah7VGW

Facebook Protest details:

http://www.facebook.com/notes/fb-stop-harassing-emma-kwasnica-over-her-breastfeeding-pics/locations-for-facebook-nurse-in/324817760874621 or http://on.fb.me/nurseins

Link to official petition site:

http://www.facebook.com/groups/2517126532/ or http://on.fb.me/HFBBFINO

Link to blog post with daily updates since Emma’s account went down Jan 8th. It includes recent images that have been deleted, screen snapshots showing the membership numbers in the official petition site before Facebook removed members, and more: http://www.jodinesworld.blogspot.com/2012/01/fb-harasses-women-for-breastfeeding.html or bit.ly/Jan30fbbf