Resolving Timeline Issues

Just a bit, mind you. And I blame Bill Maher.

I put my oatmeal in the pot with some water and set it on the stove over medium heat. It was a small pot with not a whole lot of water in it (because I only eat about 3/4 c of oatmeal at a time).

And then I hopped online and started reading. I somehow stumbled across a blog that made reference to an issue that had crossed my radar a couple of days ago.

So I went back to the original site post to refresh my memory.

And then I remembered the oatmeal. I got to in time that it wasn’t so burned. I put it in a bowl, with some milk and peaches. Yum. Dairy, fibre, fruit, iron and grains. Wholesome.

And then I went back to Izzymom. Go read her post.

Then I did a Google blog search by date for anything to do with Bill Maher. And I came to this conclusion: Bill Maher can suck it. If he chooses to view breasts as solely sexual objects, that’s his problem. Its a free country – he doesn’t have to be in the same vicinity as a woman who is breastfeeding and its much easier for him to leave rather than her. And he caused me to burn my breakfast. So suck it.

Enough has been said on the breastfeeding issue and I won’t go into it any more than that.

What really bugs me is Facebook and what Izzy has to say about it. Since I haven’t contacted her and don’t have permission to quote her directly, here’s a summary of what she says:

• Social networking utilities (such as MySpace and Facebook) have certain rules regarding the types of photos you can put up.
• This is all well and good, for the most part; it stops things like child exploitation, pornography, etc. etc.
• Both of the above-mentioned utilities have removed pictures and even banned a member because a picture of her breastfeeding her child violated obscenity rules because there was a fully exposed breast. (And really, if you can find where it falls under that really long terms document, you are a better legalese interpreter than I).
• Facebook is host for over 350 pro-anorexia groups.

350 plus pro-anorexia groups, yet, this “social networking utility” is upset over a member posting a picture of breastfeeding?

Which brings me to the point of this post: body image.

David Wescott over at Its Not a Lecture has some really good points. You can read all of his correspondence with Facebook over this issue here (and prepare to be appalled at the form answers he gets from Facebook). His statement that these two issues represent a profoundly disturbing disconnect hits the nail on the head.

All I’m going to do here is ask a question: what would be so terrible about showing girls and young women that the female form, whatever its shape, is a profoundly beautiful and life-giving thing, and fought social media that gives the view that in order to be beautiful you have to be thin?

And since I’m opinionated, I’m going to answer that question: we might actually have some well-adjusted girls and young women that are comfortable in their own skins and bodies, and have the self-esteem necessary to make good decisions for themselves.

You saw my breakfast above. What about this breakfast:

Yum. Vitamins and immunity.

(cartoon gif used because I didn’t want to steal anyone’s pictures. If someone would like to donate a photo, that would be greatly appreciated.)

My point is, one is good for adults. The other is good for infants.

And what this boils down to is that my message for Facebook is the same as for Bill Maher: suck it.

Which is why, on Sunday night, I won’t be on Facebook any more. I cannot condone supporting an organization that openly talks out of both sides of its mouth, virtual or otherwise. Particularly when that organization condones a life-threatening illness on the one hand, and continues to stigmatize something that may actually do something to help body image and self-esteem.

A short update:

After writing this, I stumbled across Motherhood Uncensored, who is calling for the same thing: delete your Facebook account.

Can you imagine what would happen if everyone who felt enraged by this deleted their account? It gives a whole new answer to the age-old questions: What if you threw a party, and nobody came?

Or in this case, what if you built a social networking utility, and everybody left?