The Difference Between Titillation and Education

An opinion piece:

Yesterday, I posted a drawing of my vagina on Facebook.  

Technically, I posted a drawing that is supposed to depict a typical woman’s vagina.  

Actually, maybe I only linked to a post that featured a drawing of a vagina. I can’t go back and fact check because Facebook deleted the entry. But I think the posting looked something like this:

 

 

Today, I received the grownup equivalent of a pink slip from the bus driver–I found the following when I attempted to access my Facebook account.

We removed content you posted

We removed the following content you posted or were the admin of because it violates Facebook’s Statement of Rights and Responsibilities: http://motherwiselife.org/2013/03/11/an-open-letter-to-facebook/

Facebook made me click through a list of its rules, shook its finger at me, and told me if I did it again, I could get banned.

Really, banned? Banned for posted an anatomically correct drawing of a woman’s body?  A textbook drawing that an eight grader could see in any Human Sexuality class?

Banned when this is okay? Or this? (It took me exactly one minute to find these. There are a lot more on Facebook.)

The original post from Mother Wise was intended to educate not titillate. In the words of the author,

I posted an anatomical drawing of a vulva; something that looks like a page out of an anatomy textbook. It was posted for educational purposes to help women get to know their bodies…

Her original post was taken down by Facebook and she wrote a blog post asking…

why pictures of women stay up if [they are] visually stimulating to men, but a cartoon drawing that will help women empower themselves and gain knowledge is considered pornographic, and gets removed?

I’m going to ask that again. Why is this link okay? And this drawing below not?

It is possible that since those other more salacious sites remain up and my post was taken down, one of the people who follow me complained.  Someone might have told the bus driver I posted a picture of women’s naughty bits. To that person, unfriend me. Don’t sit beside me on the bus and look at my writings and then claim to be shocked. Those aren’t “naughty bits.” Those are standard equipment on half the human races’ bodies. If you can’t stomach looking at them, we obviously have very different values and I don’t think my Facebook page is the place for you.   

To Facebook, have the intelligence to look at a complaint and make a reasonable distinction between titillation and education.

And you, you reading this…Don’t just sigh and move on.  You know this isn’t right.  You can do something.  Share this post. Tell your friends and tell Facebook that women have the right to information about their bodies.


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