Campaigners brought on Friday a giant 'breast balloon' to sit outside of Facebook’s London headquarters in protest of the social media giant’s decision to block images of a medical tattooist’s work.
Vicky Martin, who runs her own company called ‘the Vicky Martin Method,’ specialises in the unorthodox art of recreating the nipples of woman who have lost their breasts to cancer. Facebook made the decision to block Miss Martin’s profile for “nudity.”
— The California Sun (@Thecalifornias3) 16 November 2019
Dozens of supporters of Miss Martin’s work, which are said to include breast cancer survivors, have congregated outside of the Facebook office to protest the company’s blocking of images of Miss Martin’s work.
— News18 Buzz (@News18Buzz) 16 November 2019
One protestor named Amy, a breast cancer survivor and client of miss Martin’s, has been quoted as saying that, “it’s is important because you go for so many operations and this is one less operation. Because it’s just a tattoo but the effect of it is amazing.”
While reports say that Facebook refused to meet with Miss Martin to discuss her concerns, it did tell the BBC in a statement that, “Vicky’s profile shouldn't have been suspended - this was a mistake and we are sorry for the upset this has caused. Whilst nudity isn’t allowed...we make exceptions for posts which are clearly intended as medicinal or educational.”
— Georgie Frost ❄️ (@GECFrost) 16 November 2019
It turns however, that this is not the first time that giant inflatable breasts have stormed the streets of London. Back in April of this year a number of them appeared as part of a campaign called '#FreeTheFeed' which was intended to push the message that breastfeeding in public should not be shamed.
— Campaign (@Campaignmag) 2 April 2019