There’s still a major stigma surrounding breastfeeding mothers and unfortunately, some social media websites fall prey to the outdated idea that the act is considered to be “indecent.” 33-year-old mommy blogger Emma O’Donnell lives in Glasgow, Scotland and is currently furious with the social media app TikTok after they took down a video of her breastfeeding her son Harry one hour after it was posted. In the TikTok video, O’Donnell gives fellow moms a few tips about breastfeeding in public. She notes that while no mother should ever feel pressured to cover up, some feel more secure if they do. She then demonstrates some of the techniques, which included tossing a sheet over her shoulder to hide her breasts.
At no point in the video does O’Donnell go topless; she even made a point to be incredibly discreet. That’s why she was so surprised when she got a notice from TikTok claiming she’d breached community guidelines. At first, O’Donnell figured it was simply an algorithm error and tried to appeal the ban. Unfortunately, TikTok supposedly reviewed the content and came to the same conclusion. It took her appeal to the social media website three more times before they reinstated her video.
A TikTok spokesperson also made a statement about the incident and re-affirmed that the social media website is fine with breastfeeding being depicted in videos. They added that the video had been flagged in error but was subsequently restored.
O’Donnell doesn’t buy their statement and is still angry about what happened, especially since this isn’t the first time one of her videos has been taken down. “I’m so angry about it,” she told Metro. “It’s such a bad message to send women, that they should be ashamed of themselves for doing something so natural. It’s just so damaging and it’s objectifying them. ‘It’s not the first time something of mine has been taken down, but this particular time I was like this is so morally wrong.”
O’Donnell added that in the time of COVID-19 when moms can’t attend in person support groups, social media has been their lifeline and she feels that banning this kind of content only fuels the stigma that breastfeeding is inherently sexual.
“This is the where women can’t get to support classes, can’t get to toddler groups, can’t get to mommy groups, can’t get to anything.” The mommy blogger explained. “So they’re turning to the online community to get support but we can’t even give that support because we’re being told it’s a sexual act and it’s just not. It’s awful, how can you tell a mother that’s what that is? It keeps boiling down to the fact that it feels like we’re objectified and it’s really not okay.”
O’Donnell also created a petition on the website Change.org to normalize breastfeeding and has urged her followers to sign in. To sign her petition, please visit the website here: Normalize Breastfeeding. O’Donnell can also be found on both Instagram and TikTok.
Sources: Metro, Change.org, TikTok